Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Food Servers, Nonrestaurant: $37K vs $35K Median Pay

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Food Servers, Nonrestaurant: what changes?

Consider Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria if you want to prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias. Consider Food Servers, Nonrestaurant if you would rather serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria and Food Servers, Nonrestaurant. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

National median pay (2025): $37,450
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 62,900

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria brief

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

National median pay (2025): $35,360
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Place food servings on plates or trays according to orders or instructions.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 48,800

Know before you choose

The job can require working in cramped or physically awkward positions for meaningful stretches of time.

See the full Food Servers, Nonrestaurant brief

How the national numbers differ

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant has the edge on projected growth

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant is at 4.5% projected growth, compared with 2.8% projected growth for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria.

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is at $37,450, compared with $35,360 for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant.

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is at 62,900 annual openings, compared with 48,800 annual openings for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant.

54/ 100

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

56.1/ 100

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

Dimension	Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
Median pay (2025)	$37,450	$35,360
Pay percentile	7.3 percentile	3 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	2.8%	4.5%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	62,900	48,800
2025 employment	454,000	296,300
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria brief Read Food Servers, Nonrestaurant brief

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Food Servers, Nonrestaurant: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

How the national numbers differ

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria vs Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

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