Food Preparation Workers in Tennessee earn a median of $28,700 a year (19% below the U.S. median of $35,320), based on about 19,780 jobs. Pay for the same job differs a lot by employer, experience, industry and city within Tennessee. These are wages of employees in the occupation, not a forecast for any individual.
Median annual pay
$28,700
19% below the U.S. median of $35,320
Average annual pay
$30,860
Mean wage
Pay range
$22,290–$39,660
10th to 90th percentile
Jobs in the state
19,780
Employees, May 2025
Median hourly pay
$13.80
Before taxes
The state's price level is 91.9 (U.S. average = 100), so a median of $28,700 here equals roughly $31,230 after adjusting for the state's price level.
Explore more: food preparation workers salary in every state · about this career · Tennessee earnings by education and major · Tennessee 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.