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Food Servers, Nonrestaurant: Career Profile
Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars.
What Tasks Do Food Servers, Nonrestaurant Perform?
The core tasks performed by food servers, nonrestaurant cover:
- Place food servings on plates or trays according to orders or instructions.
- Clean or sterilize dishes, kitchen utensils, equipment, or facilities.
- Monitor food distribution, ensuring that meals are delivered to the correct recipients and that guidelines, such as those for special diets, are followed.
- Examine trays to ensure that they contain required items.
- Load trays with accessories, such as eating utensils, napkins, or condiments.
- Take food orders and relay orders to kitchens or serving counters so they can be filled.
- Monitor food preparation or serving techniques to ensure that proper procedures are followed.
- Remove trays and stack dishes for return to kitchen after meals are finished.
Skills and Knowledge
Top food servers, nonrestaurant draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The competencies most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Boat Hop
- Car Attendant
- Car Hop
- Curb Attendant
- Curb Hop
- Curber
- Dining Room Server
- Food Cart Attendant
How Many Food Servers, Nonrestaurant Are There?
There are about 239,378 food servers, nonrestaurant working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +10.8% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Food Servers, Nonrestaurant Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $31,218 |
| Hourly median | $15.01 |
| 10th percentile | $21,991 |
| 25th percentile | $26,604 |
| 75th percentile | $35,831 |
| 90th percentile | $40,444 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Colorado | $38,180 |
| New York | $38,010 |
| Washington | $37,770 |
| California | $37,690 |
| District of Columbia | $37,570 |
| Hawaii | $37,470 |
| Massachusetts | $36,540 |
| New Hampshire | $36,110 |
| Vermont | $36,040 |
| Oregon | $36,020 |
| Connecticut | $35,780 |
| North Dakota | $35,730 |
| New Jersey | $35,310 |
| Minnesota | $35,300 |
| Maine | $35,270 |
| Arizona | $35,150 |
| Maryland | $35,020 |
| Wisconsin | $34,490 |
| Illinois | $34,380 |
| Virginia | $33,920 |
| Nevada | $33,740 |
| Rhode Island | $33,630 |
| Florida | $32,170 |
| Wyoming | $32,050 |
| Georgia | $31,900 |
| Michigan | $31,720 |
| Delaware | $31,690 |
| Indiana | $31,670 |
| Montana | $31,670 |
| Alaska | $31,490 |
| Idaho | $31,200 |
| Virgin Islands | $31,100 |
| New Mexico | $31,100 |
| Kentucky | $31,080 |
| Missouri | $31,080 |
| Pennsylvania | $31,070 |
| Nebraska | $30,930 |
| South Dakota | $30,920 |
| North Carolina | $30,560 |
| South Carolina | $30,150 |
| Texas | $29,590 |
| West Virginia | $29,480 |
| Ohio | $29,380 |
| Iowa | $29,270 |
| Tennessee | $29,050 |
| Utah | $28,280 |
| Alabama | $27,810 |
| Oklahoma | $27,130 |
| Arkansas | $26,580 |
| Kansas | $26,250 |
| Louisiana | $25,550 |
| Mississippi | $24,580 |
| Puerto Rico | $20,570 |
Where Food Servers, Nonrestaurant Earn the Most
Compensation for food servers, nonrestaurant vary by region. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $37,337 | 16.0% | 0.97 |
| New England | $36,025 | 5.5% | 1.25 |
| Rocky Mountains | $35,301 | 4.3% | 1.26 |
| Middle Atlantic | $34,589 | 19.0% | 1.33 |
| Plains States | $32,377 | 9.9% | 1.75 |
| Great Lakes | $32,351 | 16.4% | 1.19 |
| Southeast | $30,578 | 20.4% | 0.86 |
| Southwest | $30,410 | 8.2% | 0.65 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | HI | $57,540 | 140 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $44,710 | 4,440 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $44,200 | 1,890 |
| Ithaca, NY | NY | $40,230 | 100 |
| Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $39,730 | 280 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $39,150 | 160 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | CO | $38,850 | 4,550 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $38,730 | 4,370 |
Industry Breakdown
The bulk of food servers, nonrestaurant are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 175,940 | $34,680 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 60,730 | $33,920 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 10,260 | $33,800 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 8,250 | $31,470 |
| Information | 3,420 | $33,920 |
| Educational Services | 2,970 | $34,930 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 1,790 | $37,990 |
| Retail Trade | 1,410 | $34,360 |
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for food servers, nonrestaurant tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Spend Time Standing
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Spend Time Walking or Running
- Time Pressure
- Physical Proximity
Education and Training
Most food servers, nonrestaurant positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Food Service Managers (Primary-Long)
- Chefs and Head Cooks (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Fast Food (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria (Primary-Long)
- Cooks, Private Household (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Restaurant (Primary-Long)
- Cooks, Short Order (Primary-Long)
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 35-3041.00 (Food Servers, Nonrestaurant).
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