Food Preparation Workers Salary in Nebraska

At $35,210 a year, the median for food preparation workers in Nebraska is close to the national median of $35,320 (0%); Nebraska ranks 23rd of 51 states by median. That is 28% less than the median across all occupations in Nebraska ($48,980). Among neighbouring states, Colorado and Wyoming pay more (up to $38,960 in Colorado) and Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa and Kansas pay less (down to $30,280 in Kansas). Nebraska employs 6,890 food preparation workers, 6.72 per 1,000 jobs, the 34th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 1.17 is close to the national share.

Nebraska vs the United States, May 2025

Food Preparation Workers: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Nebraska 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
Nebraska	Hourly	$13.82	$14.36	$16.93	$18.00	$20.46	$16.77	6,890	6.72	1.17
Nebraska	Annual	$28,740	$29,870	$35,210	$37,440	$42,560	$34,880	6,890	6.72	1.17
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	–	–

Nebraska 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: 23rd of 51 states
Rank by employment: 34th of 51 states
Location quotient: 1.17
Jobs per 1,000: 6.72

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Nebraska'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 Nebraska

4 metropolitan areas and 3 nonmetropolitan areas touching Nebraska 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
Omaha, NE-IA	$17.37	$36,140	$29,100	$43,680	3,690	7.40	1.29
Lincoln, NE	$16.93	$35,210	$29,100	$40,510	1,270	6.96	1.21
Grand Island, NE	$16.63	$34,590	$28,300	$40,120	190	4.89	0.85
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$15.06	$31,330	$28,120	$37,910	280	3.78	0.66
Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$15.69	$32,640	$28,080	$37,650	540	5.60	0.97
South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$15.69	$32,640	$28,080	$37,650	950	6.13	1.07
Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$15.05	$31,290	$28,080	$37,070	250	6.47	1.13

Neighbouring states

State	Median hourly	Median annual	Employment	Location quotient
Nebraska	$16.93	$35,210	6,890	1.17
Colorado	$18.73	$38,960	12,080	0.73
Iowa	$14.60	$30,360	4,170	0.47
Kansas	$14.56	$30,280	7,680	0.93
Missouri	$15.15	$31,510	13,650	0.81
South Dakota	$14.63	$30,430	3,270	1.24
Wyoming	$17.36	$36,110	1,620	1.00

See the national page for Food Preparation Workers (every state ranked) and the Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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.