Food Preparation Workers Salary in Alaska

At $35,720 a year, the median for food preparation workers in Alaska is close to the national median of $35,320 (+1%); Alaska ranks 17th of 51 states by median. That is 41% less than the median across all occupations in Alaska ($61,000). Alaska employs 2,800 food preparation workers, 8.60 per 1,000 jobs, the 47th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 1.50 means the occupation is more concentrated in Alaska than nationally.

Alaska vs the United States, May 2025

Food Preparation Workers: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Alaska and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Alaska	Hourly	$14.59	$16.34	$17.17	$18.56	$22.33	$17.90	2,800	8.60	1.50
Alaska	Annual	$30,350	$34,000	$35,720	$38,610	$46,440	$37,230	2,800	8.60	1.50
United States	Hourly	$12.41	$14.40	$16.98	$18.53	$21.80	$16.96	893,600	–	–
United States	Annual	$25,810	$29,950	$35,320	$38,550	$45,340	$35,290	893,600	–	–

Alaska annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

Rank by median: 17th of 51 states
Rank by employment: 47th of 51 states
Location quotient: 1.50
Jobs per 1,000: 8.60

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Alaska's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Alaska

2 metropolitan areas and 1 nonmetropolitan area touching Alaska publish a row for food preparation workers, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

Area	Median hourly	Median annual	10th pct (annual)	90th pct (annual)	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Anchorage, AK	$16.71	$34,760	$30,300	$45,680	1,590	9.01	1.57
Fairbanks-College, AK	$16.60	$34,530	$31,300	$42,730	390	10.69	1.86
Alaska nonmetropolitan area	$17.98	$37,390	$30,560	$49,290	810	7.48	1.30

See the national page for Food Preparation Workers (every state ranked) and the Alaska wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Alaska estimates.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.