Washington, DC’s dining economy supports tens of thousands of jobs across kitchens, dining rooms, bars, and counter-service operations. The latest occupational estimates show 55,000 food preparation and serving workers in the District in May 2023, while a District food-economy study documents substantial restaurant growth from 2001 through 2016.
Table of contents
- The size of Washington DC’s dining workforce
- Kitchen and culinary occupations
- Front-of-house and beverage jobs
- Which dining jobs are concentrated in DC
- Dining wages across occupations
- Restaurant-sector growth and outlook
- Food-establishment oversight
The size of Washington DC’s dining workforce
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ District of Columbia May 2023 OEWS estimates counted 55,000 people in food preparation and serving related occupations in May 2023. That occupational group represented 78.366 jobs per 1,000 District jobs. Its location quotient was 0.90, meaning the group’s employment concentration in the District was measured below the national benchmark used in the OEWS data.
The same BLS group had a $22.26 mean hourly wage and a $46,300 annual mean wage in May 2023. The group’s median hourly wage was $18.17. These figures describe occupational employment and wages across the District, rather than only workers employed by full-service restaurants.
Several large occupations account for a visible share of the dining workforce. Waiters and waitresses numbered 11,640, while fast-food and counter workers numbered 8,420. Restaurant cooks numbered 6,960. Other sizable groups included first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, at 3,390; dining-room and cafeteria attendants plus bartender helpers, at 3,780; and bartenders, at 3,740.
Kitchen and culinary occupations
Washington’s kitchen workforce spans executive responsibility, line production, preparation, and specialized short-order work. Chefs and head cooks numbered 1,770 workers in May 2023. The occupation had a $33.37 median hourly wage, a $75,520 annual mean wage, and 2.22 chefs and head cooks per 1,000 District jobs, according to the BLS District of Columbia OEWS release.
Restaurant cooks formed a much larger occupation, with 6,960 workers. Their median hourly wage was $18.33, and their annual mean wage was $41,570. Short-order cooks numbered 350 and had a $17.79 median hourly wage plus a $38,220 annual mean wage. Fast-food cooks numbered 2,010; their median hourly wage was $16.95, and their annual mean wage was $36,900.
Food preparation workers numbered 3,960. The occupation’s median hourly wage was $18.09, and its annual mean wage was $39,540. Institution and cafeteria cooks had a $20.77 median hourly wage. Together, these figures show how pay and workforce scale vary between culinary leadership, restaurant cooking, fast-food cooking, and preparation work.
| Kitchen occupation | District workers | Median hourly wage | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chefs and head cooks | 1,770 | $33.37 | $75,520 |
| Restaurant cooks | 6,960 | $18.33 | $41,570 |
| Fast-food cooks | 2,010 | $16.95 | $36,900 |
| Short-order cooks | 350 | $17.79 | $38,220 |
| Food preparation workers | 3,960 | $18.09 | $39,540 |
All employment and wage figures in this table refer to May 2023 District of Columbia estimates from the BLS OEWS source. Median hourly wages and annual mean wages are different measures and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Front-of-house and beverage jobs
Dining-room work represents another major part of the District’s food-service labor market. Waiters and waitresses numbered 11,640 in May 2023. Their median hourly wage was $17.98, their annual mean wage was $51,970, and the occupation represented 1.13 jobs per 1,000 District jobs. The annual mean wage is not a projection of an individual worker’s earnings; it is the BLS mean for the occupation and geography.
Bartenders numbered 3,740 and had a $22.70 median hourly wage. Their annual mean wage was $59,850, and the District had 1.14 bartenders per 1,000 jobs. Food servers outside restaurants had an annual mean wage of $43,920, a separate BLS category that should not be combined with restaurant waiters and waitresses.
Dining-room and cafeteria attendants plus bartender helpers numbered 3,780 workers. Their median hourly wage was $18.70, and their annual mean wage was $44,120. Hosts and hostesses in restaurants, lounges, and coffee shops numbered 3,150. That group had a $17.31 median hourly wage and a $40,940 annual mean wage.
These occupations help describe the service structure behind a meal: table service, beverage service, greeting and seating, and support work. The source reports each category separately, so the figures are best read as distinct occupational snapshots rather than as a single combined headcount.
Which dining jobs are concentrated in DC
The BLS location quotient compares an occupation’s local employment concentration with its national concentration. A value above 1.00 indicates a higher concentration than the national reference; a value below 1.00 indicates a lower one.
In May 2023, restaurant cooks had a 1.07 location quotient in the District, while food preparation workers had a 0.98 quotient. Fast-food and counter workers had a 0.50 quotient and represented 12.000 jobs per 1,000 District jobs. By contrast, several support and dining-room occupations had notably higher quotients: dining-room attendants and bartender helpers had 1.69, dishwashers had 1.73, and hosts and hostesses had 1.61.
Dishwashers numbered 3,710 District workers in May 2023. Their concentration measure was therefore high relative to the national comparison even though the occupation’s absolute workforce was smaller than that of waiters, restaurant cooks, or fast-food and counter workers. The pattern illustrates why workforce size and local specialization answer different questions.
Dining wages across occupations
The May 2023 BLS estimates show a broad wage range across Washington’s dining occupations. Chefs and head cooks had the highest listed median hourly wage among the kitchen occupations covered here, at $33.37. Bartenders had a $22.70 median, while institution and cafeteria cooks had a $20.77 median. Restaurant cooks, food preparation workers, and dining-room attendants plus bartender helpers had medians of $18.33, $18.09, and $18.70, respectively.
At the lower end of the listed medians, dishwashers had $17.29 per hour, hosts and hostesses had $17.31, and fast-food cooks had $16.95. Fast-food and counter workers had a $17.79 median, as did short-order cooks. Waiters and waitresses had a $17.98 median.
The annual mean figures tell a related but not identical story. Chefs and head cooks had a $75,520 annual mean wage, followed by bartenders at $59,850 and waiters and waitresses at $51,970. The annual mean for dining-room attendants and bartender helpers was $44,120, compared with $41,570 for restaurant cooks, $40,940 for hosts and hostesses, and $37,610 for dishwashers. Fast-food and counter workers had a $39,040 annual mean wage.
Because the BLS source reports medians and means separately, a median hourly wage should not be multiplied into an annual salary here. The supplied estimates also measure occupations across the District and do not establish a particular restaurant’s pay scale.
Restaurant-sector growth and outlook
The District’s Food Economy Study: Spotlight on Restaurants reported that restaurants employed more than 53,500 people in 2016. Restaurants accounted for approximately 75% of all workers in the District’s food economy that year.
The study reported an average addition of roughly 1,700 restaurant jobs per year from 2001 through 2016. Over that period, full-service restaurant employment grew 93%, while limited-service restaurant employment grew 115%. Restaurant employment overall grew 67% from 2006 to 2016.
The study also included a forecast rather than a historical count: it projected 20% employment growth for both full-service and limited-service restaurants from 2016 to 2026. This is a 2016–2026 forecast in the District study, not a measured outcome. It should therefore be kept separate from the May 2023 BLS estimates and from the historical employment figures.
| Restaurant measure | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant employment | 2016 | More than 53,500 workers |
| Restaurant share of District food-economy workers | 2016 | Approximately 75% |
| Average restaurant job additions | 2001–2016 | Roughly 1,700 per year |
| Full-service restaurant employment growth | 2001–2016 | 93% |
| Limited-service restaurant employment growth | 2001–2016 | 115% |
| Restaurant employment growth | 2006–2016 | 67% |
| Projected full-service employment growth | 2016–2026 forecast | 20% |
| Projected limited-service employment growth | 2016–2026 forecast | 20% |
The historical figures come from the District’s food-economy study, while the occupational figures above come from the BLS May 2023 release. Their different dates, definitions, and purposes mean they should not be combined into a single trend line.
Food-establishment oversight
The DC Health Division of Food inspects approximately 7,500 food establishments in the District. The stated scope includes restaurants, grocery stores, mobile vendors, and cottage-food businesses. That count is broader than restaurants alone, but it gives context for the number of food businesses subject to the District’s inspection activity.
Taken together, the available measures describe a dining economy with 55,000 food preparation and serving workers in May 2023, distinct concentrations in kitchen and support occupations, and a restaurant sector that the District study documented as a major part of the food economy in 2016. The 2016 study’s 20% growth figures remain forecasts for 2016–2026, while the BLS figures are May 2023 employment and wage estimates.