Fast-Food Worker Demographics and Statistics in the US – 2024
If you’re looking to start a career as a Fast-Food Worker, you might find our statistics and demographics helpful in your job pursuit.
Keep reading to find out the average salary, education demographics and more.
- The average salary for a Fast-Food Worker in the United States is $30,110
- Top-earning Fast-Food Workers make $36,880 per year
- The bottom earners make $22,190
- The number of male and female Fast-Food Workers is roughly the same
- 51% of all Fast-Food Workers are between 20 and 30 years old
Fast-Food Worker Employment Statistics
There are currently roughly 3,676,580 Fast-Food Workers in the United States.
See how the number of individuals in this role changed from 2019 in the graph below.
Fast-Food Worker Gender Statistics
53% of all Fast-Food Workers in the United States are women.
The hospitality sector has multiple roles and positions that are either male or female dominated, as you can see on our Cashier demographics page.
Fast-Food Worker Age Statistics
Only 3% of all Fast-Food Workers are older than 40 years old.
The data suggests that this role is dominated by younger individuals, which is different from some other hospitality roles such as the Busser.
See how old Bussers are on our Busser demographics in the U.S.
Fast-Food Worker Ethnicity and Race Statistics
Most Fast-Food Workers are white, followed by Hispanic/Latino (18.6%) and Black/African American (9.6%).
This is similar to other hospitality positions as you can see on our Barback demographics page.
See the breakdown of Fast-Food Workers by race and ethnicity in the graph below.
Fast-Food Worker Education Statistics
Most Fast-Food Workers have a high school diploma. However, some of them have higher education such as bachelor’s (9%) and associate’s (11%).
See the breakdown of Fast-Food Worker education below.
Fast-Food Worker Tenure Statistics
Fast-Food Workers typically have a high turnover rate. Most of them stay at the same job for less than a year, while 34% of them are at the same Fast-Food Worker Role for less than two years.
See how long Fast-Food Workers stay at the same job below.
Fast-Food Workers Industry Statistics
Individuals who have Fast-Food Worker jobs in the United States work across various industries, with most of them working in restaurants and other eating places according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
See where they work in the table below:
| Industry | Employment |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 3,060,960 |
| Special Food Services | 141,760 |
| Food and Beverage Retailers | 135,780 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | 88,840 |
| Gasoline Stations | 37,190 |
Fast-Food Worker Jobs by Company Size
Fast-Food Workers can work for national and global chains, as well as smaller fast-food companies.
See where they work according to the size of their employer.
Fast-Food Workers Languages Spoken
Aside from English, most Fast-Food Workers who know a second language can speak Spanish, followed by French (10%) and German (5%).
See the most common second languages that Fast-Food Workers speak.
9 Additional Fast-Food Worker Statistics
- 47% of all Fast-Food Workers are men
- 51% of Fast-Food Workers are between 20 and 30 years old
- 63% of Fast-Food Workers have a high school diploma
- 32% of Fast-Food Workers work for companies that employ between 1,000 and 10,000 people
- The average salary for a Fast-Food Worker in the United States is $14.47
- Employment for Fast-Food Workers is projected to increase by 5% in the period of 2023-2033
- There are roughly 1,172,600 Fast-Food Worker job openings in the U.S. each year
. - The Federal, State, and Local Government is the top-paying industry for Fast-Food Workers ($43,270)
- The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metropolitan area employs the most Fast-Food Workers (183,050)
Fast-Food Worker Statistics and Demographics FAQÂ
Fast-Food Workers earn the most in:
- District of Columbia ($39,040)
- Washington ($37,300)
- California ($36,670)
The metropolitan area New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA has the most Fast-Food Workers.
Some of the states with the high level of employment for Fast-Food Workers are:
- California
- Texas
- Florida
If you’re looking for a Fast-Food Worker job in one of these states, explore our Fast-Food Worker Miami jobs page.
There are currently roughly 3,676,580 Fast-Food Workers in the United States.
53% of all Fast-Food Workers are female.
Most Fast-Food Workers are white.
The average male Fast-Food Worker is 23 while the average female Fast-Food Worker is 24 years old.
Fast-Food Worker Statistics and Demographics Data
We collect our data from multiple sources, focusing on government agencies and websites.
To see how we found Fast-Food Worker statistics and demographics, explore our statistics and demographics methodology page.
Written by Vukasin Petrovic
Vukasin is an experienced content creator with more than five years of writing and editing experience. With a background in English and an MFA in Creative Writing, he excels in digital marketing and copywriting, crafting narratives that engage the audience.
Reviewed by Stefan Petrov
With over 10 years of experience as a writer and editor, Stefan has worked in the automotive, IT, health and hospitality industries. Familiar with Google Search Console and other SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush, Stefan uses his experience to create content that’s visually appealing to the user but also ranks in the SERPs.
