Food Service Managers vs Funeral Home Managers: $69K vs $79K Median Pay

Food Service Managers vs Funeral Home Managers: what changes?

Consider Food Service Managers if you want to plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages. Consider Funeral Home Managers if you would rather plan, direct, or coordinate the services or resources of funeral homes. Entry credentials differ: Food Service Managers, high school diploma or equivalent; Funeral Home Managers, associate's degree. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Food Service Managers (less than 5 years) and Funeral Home Managers (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Food Service Managers and Funeral Home Managers. 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

Food Service Managers

National median pay (2025): $69,390
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Count money and make bank deposits.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 38,800

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Food Service Managers brief

Funeral Home Managers

National median pay (2025): $78,790
Route into the job: Associate's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Consult with families or friends of the deceased to arrange funeral details, such as obituary notice wording, casket selection, or plans for services.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,600

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Funeral Home Managers brief

How the national numbers differ

Food Service Managers has the edge on annual openings

Food Service Managers is at 38,800 annual openings, compared with 2,600 annual openings for Funeral Home Managers.

Typical preparation differs.

Food Service Managers: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Funeral Home Managers: Associate's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Food Service Managers has the edge on projected growth

Food Service Managers is at 5.8% projected growth, compared with 4.1% projected growth for Funeral Home Managers.

Funeral Home Managers has the edge on median pay

Funeral Home Managers is at $78,790, compared with $69,390 for Food Service Managers.

75.2/ 100

Food Service Managers

56.1/ 100

Funeral Home Managers

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

Food Service Managers vs Funeral Home Managers

Dimension	Food Service Managers	Funeral Home Managers
Median pay (2025)	$69,390	$78,790
Pay percentile	60.8 percentile	71 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	5.8%	4.1%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	38,800	2,600
2025 employment	344,300	34,800
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	Associate's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 3
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

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

Read Food Service Managers brief Read Funeral Home Managers brief

Food Service Managers vs Funeral Home Managers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Food Service Managers

Funeral Home Managers

How the national numbers differ

Food Service Managers has the edge on annual openings

Typical preparation differs.

Food Service Managers has the edge on projected growth

Funeral Home Managers has the edge on median pay

Food Service Managers vs Funeral Home Managers

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