District of Columbia · SOC 35-0000 · Annual, 2025
Food preparation and serving related occupations in the District of Columbia
Employment and average annual wage for SOC 35-0000 in the District of Columbia, 2004–2025, from DTG's OEWS-based estimates.
In 2025, about 56,400 people in the District of Columbia worked in food preparation and serving related occupations (SOC 35-0000), with an average annual wage of $54,250.
Employment in food preparation and serving related occupations in the District of Columbia grew 54.0% from 2020 to 2025. The average wage in this occupation group is 56.6% below the all-occupations average in the District of Columbia. Employment fell 39.8% from 2019 to 2020 and has since recovered 81.7% of that loss. Quarterly values, full occupation detail and projections to 2036 for the District of Columbia are included with a free account. County-level detail is part of every paid plan, or one county free for seven days.
- 56,400Employment, 2025
- $54,250Mean annual wage
- 7.6%Share of District of Columbia jobs
- 0.87Location quotient
Employment, 2004 to 2025
Annual average · all ownerships
Annual employment, 2004–2025: 2004 38,200; 2005 40,000; 2006 40,600; 2007 41,500; 2008 42,900; 2009 43,300; 2010 44,700; 2011 47,000; 2012 49,600; 2013 52,000; 2014 53,700; 2015 56,300; 2016 57,200; 2017 58,700; 2018 59,800; 2019 60,900; 2020 36,600; 2021 38,900; 2022 49,300; 2023 55,600; 2024 57,200; 2025 56,400.
Last ten years
Annual · 10 years
| Year | Employment | Mean annual wage | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 56,418 | $54,248 | 1.4% |
| 2024 | 57,216 | $53,211 | 2.8% |
| 2023 | 55,643 | $50,184 | 12.8% |
| 2022 | 49,331 | $48,735 | 26.9% |
| 2021 | 38,861 | $47,374 | 6.0% |
| 2020 | 36,646 | $44,029 | 39.8% |
| 2019 | 60,863 | $40,627 | 1.8% |
| 2018 | 59,800 | $39,284 | 1.9% |
| 2017 | 58,660 | $37,487 | 2.5% |
| 2016 | 57,222 | $34,565 | 1.6% |
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 District of Columbia, quarterly, at full depth
This page shows annual figures for food preparation and serving related occupations in District of Columbia. 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.