Restaurant Consultant Salary 
in the United States

The average base salary for a Restaurant Consultant in the U.S. is $81,376 per year, according to our salary estimate methodology.

Looking to find out more about Restaurant Consultant salaries? We’ve created this guide to help you find all the relevant information.

But first — you might want to try out the comparison tool below. With this tool, you can see where your current or preferred Restaurant Consultant salary stands in major cities.

How Much Does a Restaurant Consultant Make?

On a monthly basis, Restaurant Consultants in the U.S. make an average of $6,780.75.

As for the average hourly pay, Restaurant Consultants earn around $39.12.

How Do Restaurant Consultants Get Paid?

There are various ways for a Restaurant Consultant to get paid, depending on the company or client they work for. Below are some of the most common payment structures:

• Hourly rate: This is usually the payment structure given to Restaurant Consultants working on short-term projects. It may also be applicable at times when their scope of work has not yet been fully defined but the client wants them to start right away.
• Project-based fee: Clients often given Restaurant Consultants a fixed fee if the project already has a clear scope of work. This fee is agreed upon before they start working on the project and may be divided into installments (e.g., one at the start and another at the end of the project).
• Monthly salary: Restaurant Consultants who are full-time employees in a consultancy firm (or similar) would get a fixed monthly salary, along with company-provided benefits and perks.
• Retainer fee: This one is similar to the monthly salary, except that it's mainly for Restaurant Consultants providing ongoing, long-term services to a client.

In the next section, we'll cover the major factors that typically determine a Restaurant Consultant's salary or earnings.

What Factors Affect a Restaurant Consultant's Salary?

The three most common factors that influences the salary of a Restaurant Consultant are: industry experience, educational attainment and location. Of course, we'll go through each of these one by one.

Among the three, industry experience is perhaps the main factor that influences the salary of a Restaurant Consultant.

After all, the role of the Restaurant Consultant is to improve the restaurant operations of their client. That said, many employers prefer candidates who have a certain number of years of experience in the hospitality industry.

For most Restaurant Consultant jobs, the employers are looking for individuals with several years of experience in the hospitality industry; usually a minimum of two, but often more than four.

The reason for this is that Restaurant Consultants are expected to be experts. Only individuals with enough years of experience can effectively analyze the restaurant operations — from inventory management to marketing — and offer steps on how to improve the restaurant's bottom line.

Additionally, some employers factor in a candidate's level of educational attainment. This means that candidates with a college degree or higher may have better chances of receiving a competitive offer.

Lastly, the salary of a Restaurant Consultant can also depend on their work location. This is because average salaries for this role vary from state to state and from city to city — which we'll be covering in the next two sections.

Top-Paying Locations for Restaurant Consultants

As mentioned, where a Restaurant Consultant works is a major determining factor for how much they could earn.

With that in mind, some states and districts have significantly higher average salaries than the rest. These places often have more companies that are willing to pay a higher fee for a Restaurant Consultant’s services.

Here are the locations that offer the highest average yearly salaries for Restaurant Consultants:

• District of Columbia ($98,545)
• Washington ($92,748)
• Oregon ($91,893)

Meanwhile, those that tend to have the lowest Restaurant Consultant salaries are:

• North Dakota ($61,419)
• Utah ($61,492)
• Ohio ($64,143)

Explore the salaries for Restaurant Consultants across the United States below:

High-Paying Cities for Restaurant Consultants

Aside from the difference in salary for Restaurant Consultants in different states and districts, cities in the U.S. also have varying average salaries for this role.

Out of the four major U.S. cities, the top-paying one is Los Angeles, while Restaurant Consultants in NYC tend to earn the lowest salaries.

See the average Restaurant Consultants salary in each of the major U.S. cities below:

Estimating Your Take-Home Pay as a Restaurant Consultant

Not sure how much money you'll make after taxes? Whether you're doing restaurant consulting on a freelance or full-time basis, OysterLink's Paycheck Calculator has you covered.

All you have to do is:

1. Input your Restaurant Consultant salary.
2. Select how often you get paid.
3. Pick the state where you're working.
4. Click the "Calculate Tax" button.

How Much Do Careers Similar to a Restaurant Consultant Get Paid? 

Expert Reviewer Milos Eric thoroughly evaluated this salary guide to ensure the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the analyses provided. The salary guide provides insights such as location-specific figures, industry trends and factors that influence compensation. As the Co-Founder and General Manager of OysterLink, Milos brings his extensive experience as an entrepreneur and business executive. Through the years, he has led and hired more than 500 employees for global companies like DesignRush and Digital Silk. Not to mention, he is recognized as a Top Voice for Leadership, Recruitment and Recruitment Management on LinkedIn.