SOC 35-2021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Food Preparation Workers — Albany
Albany, OR · 7 metro areas compared
The median wage here is $35,860 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $35,320.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to decline
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- -3.4%
- Openings per year
- 148,000
- Typical entry-level education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Albany, OR.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
The median wage here is $35,860 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $35,320. Half of workers earn between $33,810 and $40,080. Beyond that band, the tenth percentile sits at $31,280 and the ninetieth at $45,160.
The area has 260 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.94 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Portland leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $38,730. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 227th of 241 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $31,280 | −11.4% |
| 25th | $33,810 | −4.3% |
| Median (50th) | $35,860 | +1.5% |
| 75th | $40,080 | +13.5% |
| 90th | $45,160 | +27.9% |
| Mean | $37,960 | +7.5% |
Other metro areas in Oregon
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Albany run 2.1% above the national average, so the median of $35,860 buys what $35,122 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 0.6% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$35,860as reported by BLSLocal price level
102.1US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$35,122US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $35,860 a year, 1.5% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $31,280 to $45,160 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 260 jobs in this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is Portland, at $38,730.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Food Preparation Workers in Albany, OR?
The median annual wage is $35,860, or $17.24 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $35,320, so pay in Albany, OR is 1.5% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in Albany, OR earns more than $45,160 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $31,280 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
Which area nearby pays the most?
The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Portland, at $38,730 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 260 jobs in this occupation in Albany, OR. Self-employed workers are not included.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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