North Carolina · SOC 35-0000 · Annual, 2025
Food preparation and serving related occupations in North Carolina
Employment and average annual wage for SOC 35-0000 in North Carolina, 2004–2025, from DTG's OEWS-based estimates.
In 2025, about 446,500 people in North Carolina worked in food preparation and serving related occupations (SOC 35-0000), with an average annual wage of $35,990.
Employment in food preparation and serving related occupations in North Carolina grew 23.5% from 2020 to 2025. The average wage in this occupation group is 49.6% below the all-occupations average in North Carolina. Employment reached its 2004–2025 peak in 2025, at about 446,500. Quarterly values, full occupation detail and projections to 2036 for North Carolina are included with a free account. County-level detail is part of every paid plan, or one county free for seven days.
- 446,500Employment, 2025
- $35,990Mean annual wage
- 9.0%Share of North Carolina jobs
- 1.03Location quotient
Employment, 2004 to 2025
Annual average · all ownerships
Annual employment, 2004–2025: 2004 311,200; 2005 319,700; 2006 336,200; 2007 348,700; 2008 352,100; 2009 341,700; 2010 340,100; 2011 346,100; 2012 359,400; 2013 372,600; 2014 383,400; 2015 396,000; 2016 409,700; 2017 418,100; 2018 423,700; 2019 428,800; 2020 361,600; 2021 383,600; 2022 408,800; 2023 433,600; 2024 445,100; 2025 446,500.
Last ten years
Annual · 10 years
| Year | Employment | Mean annual wage | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 446,512 | $35,986 | 0.3% |
| 2024 | 445,148 | $34,803 | 2.7% |
| 2023 | 433,607 | $32,922 | 6.1% |
| 2022 | 408,812 | $31,098 | 6.6% |
| 2021 | 383,575 | $28,724 | 6.1% |
| 2020 | 361,564 | $26,517 | 15.7% |
| 2019 | 428,805 | $25,103 | 1.2% |
| 2018 | 423,658 | $24,466 | 1.3% |
| 2017 | 418,086 | $23,474 | 2.1% |
| 2016 | 409,684 | $22,769 | 3.5% |
The full history from 2004 and quarterly values are available with a free account.
Where these numbers come from
Reading these figures
The figures on this page come from one named vintage, stated below, and are annual values for all ownerships combined. Every occupation value is a DTG estimate: there is no published county or state census of occupations to report, so no value here is marked as published or estimated, and none carries a reliability score. Quarterly figures, county figures, detailed occupations and projected years are in the app.
How these figures are built
DTG’s industry employment fixes how many jobs there are in each industry in the state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ national industry-occupation matrix says how each industry is staffed, and the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey says how many people work in each occupation in the area and what they earn. DTG makes the three agree, so occupation employment sums to the same totals as industry employment. Employment is the annual average; the mean annual wage is the year’s total occupation wages divided by that average employment. The construction is described in full on the occupation data page.
Notes
Data Tactical Group is an independent company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any federal agency.
Food preparation and serving related occupations in North Carolina, quarterly, at full depth
This page shows annual figures for food preparation and serving related occupations in North Carolina. A free account shows every detailed occupation in the group, quarterly, for every state, with projections to ten years. No card.
County figures, file export and the API are on paid plans.