Food service is one of the largest parts of the U.S. consumer economy. In 2024, foodservice outlets recorded $1.52 trillion in food sales, while eating and drinking places were associated with 14.69 million direct employees in 2023. The statistics below show how the sector is divided across restaurants and other outlets, how much consumers spend away from home, and what the workforce looks like.
Contents
- Economic contribution
- Sales and consumer spending
- Full-service, limited-service, and other outlets
- Employment, wages, and occupations
- Business structure and ownership
- Workforce demographics
- Workplace size, safety, and productivity
Economic contribution
The National Restaurant Association’s economic contributions analysis uses 2023 IMPLAN data and reports figures in 2025 dollars for its forecast framing. It estimates that eating and drinking places directly contributed $1.54 trillion in U.S. economic output. That direct output was roughly equivalent to more than 5% of nominal gross domestic product.
The direct industry footprint included 14.69 million employees and $508.86 billion in total labor income. In this measure, total labor income includes wages, salaries, proprietors’ income, and benefits. The National Restaurant Association projects that the industry’s direct output will be $1.54 trillion in the stated 2025-dollar framework.
The broader economic effect is considerably larger when indirect and induced activity is included. The same analysis expects eating and drinking places to contribute $3.66 trillion in total output, equal to 12.3% of nominal GDP. That wider contribution includes 23.0 million employees and $1.17 trillion in total labor income.
Taxes also extend beyond the businesses’ direct activity. The industry is projected to pay $238.64 billion in taxes to all levels of government. The direct tax figures include $61.80 billion in state taxes and $120.69 billion in federal taxes. With indirect and induced effects included, the contribution rises to $503.85 billion in total taxes, including $120.91 billion in state taxes and $281.08 billion in federal taxes.
Sales and consumer spending
USDA Economic Research Service data show that total food sales at foodservice and food-retailing outlets reached $2.58 trillion in 2024. Foodservice outlets alone accounted for $1.52 trillion. Full-service establishments supplied $552.7 billion of those foodservice outlet sales, while limited-service establishments supplied $550.7 billion.
Food away from home (FAFH) represented 58.9% of total food expenditures in 2024, a record-high share in the USDA series. Full-service and limited-service restaurants together accounted for 72.6% of all FAFH spending. Limited-service restaurants represented 36.3% of the FAFH market, and full-service restaurants represented 36.4%.
Average daily sales varied by outlet type and month in 2024:
| Outlet type | Lowest month and sales | Highest month and sales |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service | January, $1,307 million | December, $1,584 million |
| Limited-service | January, $1,337 million | June, $1,584 million |
| Other FAFH outlets | January, $679 million | February, $760 million |
Nationwide per-capita FAFH purchases reached $4,275 in 2024. State and district results varied substantially. Washington, DC recorded the highest per-capita FAFH sales at $11,364, followed by Hawaii at $7,131 and Nevada at $7,007. California recorded $5,504 per person, while Louisiana’s $3,900 was the median value across all states.
At the lower end of the reported figures, West Virginia recorded $2,885 in per-capita FAFH purchases. Iowa recorded $3,078, Wisconsin $3,099, Idaho $3,153, and North Dakota $3,262. These are 2024 spending estimates and should be read as geographic comparisons rather than measures of an individual household’s annual budget.
The USDA Food Expenditure Series has annual national data beginning in 1997. Its state-level estimates were first published in 2023. The series is released annually each June, while monthly national data are released from June through February, typically between the 17th and 21st of each month.
Full-service, limited-service, and other outlets
The National Restaurant Association’s 2023 IMPLAN-based analysis separates the industry into three broad groups. Full-service restaurants generated $606.37 billion in direct output and $1.46 trillion in total output after indirect and induced effects. They had 5.87 million direct employees and 9.35 million total employees. Direct labor income was $211.95 billion, compared with $474.65 billion in total labor income. Direct taxes were $95.04 billion, and total taxes were $201.75 billion.
Limited-service restaurants generated $656.95 billion in direct output and $1.67 trillion in total output. The category had 5.72 million direct employees and 9.75 million total employees. Direct labor income was $172.10 billion, while total labor income reached $474.44 billion. Limited-service restaurants generated $95.95 billion in direct taxes and $217.42 billion in total taxes.
The “all other food and drinking places” category generated $272.61 billion in direct output and $644.74 billion in total output. It had 3.11 million direct employees and 4.75 million total employees. Direct labor income was $124.81 billion, compared with $252.34 billion in total labor income. Direct taxes were $47.64 billion, and total taxes were $96.67 billion.
The category totals illustrate why direct and total measures should not be treated as interchangeable. Direct figures describe activity at the establishments themselves, while total figures also include supply-chain and household-spending effects associated with that activity.
Employment, wages, and occupations
The National Restaurant Association reports more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets in the United States. Its industry outlook projected 200,000 jobs added in 2024, with total employment reaching 15.7 million by the end of that year. Between 2024 and 2032, employment was projected to increase by an average of 150,000 jobs per year, reaching 16.9 million by 2032.
Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for food services and drinking places show a broad occupational base. In 2025, the industry employed 3,351,390 combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast-food workers. It employed 620,270 fast-food cooks, 1,235,200 restaurant cooks, 1,009,330 first-line supervisors and managers of food preparation and serving workers, and 1,943,380 waiters and waitresses.
In 2025, median hourly wages were $14.80 for combined food preparation and serving workers, $17.87 for restaurant cooks, $20.45 for first-line supervisors and managers, and $16.93 for waiters and waitresses. The National Restaurant Association reports that waitstaff at full-service restaurants had median earnings of $27.00 per hour, with the upper quartile at $41.50 per hour. Its tipped-employee research also reports a $27.00 median hourly figure for waiters and waitresses at full-service restaurants.
For March 2026, BLS reported average hourly earnings of $21.82 in food services and drinking places. Average weekly hours were 25.3. Production and nonsupervisory employees earned $20.05 per hour and worked 23.9 hours per week on average.
Among full-time workers in 2025, median weekly earnings were $731. Full-time union members had median weekly earnings of $769, compared with $729 for full-time nonunion workers. These measures cover different worker groupings and periods, so they are not direct substitutes for the occupational median hourly wages above.
Business structure and ownership
The National Restaurant Association reports that nine in 10 restaurants have fewer than 50 employees and seven in 10 are single-unit operations. The sector also has a strong internal career pathway: eight in 10 restaurant owners started in entry-level positions, and nine in 10 restaurant managers started in entry-level positions. Overall, 63% of adults have worked in the restaurant industry.
Restaurant ownership is diverse. In 2023 data, at least 50% of restaurant firms were women-owned, 41% were majority-owned by women, and 49% were minority-owned. The National Restaurant Association also reports that 41% of restaurant firms were owned by minorities, compared with 30% of businesses in the overall private sector.
The reported 2023 ownership shares included 18% Asian-owned firms, 18% Hispanic-owned firms, and 16% Black- or African American-owned firms. By state, minority ownership was 73% in Hawaii, 67% in Texas, 66% in California, 66% in Georgia, and 64% in Maryland.
Veteran ownership was reported at 4.0% for firms at least 50% veteran-owned. Majority-veteran-owned firms represented 3.1%, while 0.9% were equally owned by veterans and non-veterans.
Workforce demographics
The National Restaurant Association reports that 52% of restaurant and foodservice employees are minorities. Hispanic employees account for 28%, Black or African American employees 12%, and Asian employees 7%. By occupation, minorities represent 63% of chefs, 62% of cooks, and 46% of managers.
Women represent 54% of restaurant and foodservice employees. They account for 50% of managers, 55% of supervisors, 68% of waitstaff, and 60% of bartenders. These figures describe the composition of each reported occupational group, not the share of all employees working in that occupation.
The workforce is relatively young. Forty percent of restaurant and foodservice employees are under age 25, and 60% are under age 35. Sixty-two percent have never been married, while 33% are heads of household.
Workplace size, safety, and productivity
BLS counted 727,722 private-industry establishments in food services and drinking places in the third quarter of 2025. The same quarter included 518 local-government establishments, three state-government establishments, and 179 federal-government establishments.
The sector recorded 144 workplace fatalities in 2022. In 2024, the total recordable case rate was 2.4 per 100 full-time workers. The rate for cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer was 1.0 per 100 full-time workers. Within that measure, the days-away-from-work case rate was 0.7 and the days-of-job-transfer-or-restriction rate was 0.3 per 100 full-time workers.
Productivity measures for 2024 show mixed movement. Total factor productivity declined 0.5%, while output increased 1.2%. Combined inputs increased 1.7%, including a 1.8% increase in capital input and a 0.4% increase in labor input. Labor productivity, measured as output per hour, increased 1.6%.
Together, these figures describe an industry with a large direct workforce, substantial supply-chain effects, record-high food-away-from-home spending, and a business base dominated by relatively small and often single-unit operators.