Food Service Managers
US occupation · SOC 11-9051
Job titles people report: Banquet Manager, Catering Manager, CDM (Certified Dietary Manager), Dining Service Director, F and B Manager (Food and Beverage Manager), Food Service Director, Food Service Manager, Food Service Supervisor, Kitchen Manager, Restaurant Manager
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $69,390
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $56,870 – $86,800
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 238,430
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +5.8%
- At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 38,800
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.
Main tasks
- Count money and make bank deposits.
- Establish standards for personnel performance and customer service.
- Keep records required by government agencies regarding sanitation or food subsidies.
- Schedule staff hours and assign duties.
- Investigate and resolve complaints regarding food quality, service, or accommodations.
- Maintain food and equipment inventories, and keep inventory records.
- Perform some food preparation or service tasks, such as cooking, clearing tables, and serving food and drinks when necessary.
- Monitor budgets and payroll records, and review financial transactions to ensure that expenditures are authorized and budgeted.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years
- Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 10 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Business
- Hospitality Administration/Management, General
- Hotel/Motel Administration/Management
- Restaurant/Food Services Management
- Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Management
- Brewery/Brewpub Operations/Management
- Hospitality Administration/Management, Other
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Business at the Major step.
Where many students take business
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 35% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT · 28% of degrees · 155,088 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · 26% of degrees · 64,674 undergraduates
- Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenix, AZ · 22% of degrees · 73,371 undergraduates
- University of Maryland Global CampusAdelphi, MD · 25% of degrees · 49,664 undergraduates
- University of the PeoplePasadena, CA · 53% of degrees · 22,688 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Other fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer these fields as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for them here.
Culinary, Entertainment, and Personal Services
- Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/Manager
- Culinary Science/Culinology
- Wine Steward/Sommelier
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
- Foodservice Systems Administration/Management
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Chefs and Head Cooks
$62,470 median · +6.6% projected
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
$44,080 median · +5.4% projected
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
$37,450 median · +2.8% projected
- Cooks, Restaurant
$37,390 median · +12.1% projected
- Cooks, Private Household
$47,940 median · +5.1% projected
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
$48,520 median · -3.7% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk