Food Preparation Workers in California earn a median of $39,350 a year (11% above the U.S. median of $35,320), based on about 112,750 jobs. Pay for the same job differs a lot by employer, experience, industry and city within California. These are wages of employees in the occupation, not a forecast for any individual.
Median annual pay
$39,350
11% above the U.S. median of $35,320
Average annual pay
$41,480
Mean wage
Pay range
$35,190–$48,470
10th to 90th percentile
Jobs in the state
112,750
Employees, May 2025
Median hourly pay
$18.92
Before taxes
The state's price level is 110.7 (U.S. average = 100), so a median of $39,350 here equals roughly $35,547 after adjusting for the state's price level.
Explore more: food preparation workers salary in every state · about this career · California earnings by education and major · California counties
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, state estimates (employees only; self-employed workers are not included); price-level adjustment uses the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (where 100 is the U.S. average; MajorPays' calculation). Wages are for an occupation in a state as a whole and vary widely by employer, experience, industry and place within the state. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; neither agency has approved or endorsed this presentation. See Data sources for each dataset's terms.