Restaurant industry statistics show a large U.S. economic footprint, a majority share of food spending outside the home, millions of serving jobs, and substantial food-safety exposure. The measures below distinguish restaurants from the broader foodservice and food-away-from-home populations, and distinguish observed data from estimates and forecasts.
Key Restaurant Industry Statistics
The most useful headline figures span market scale, spending, employment, pay, outlook and food safety:
- In 2022, U.S. eating and drinking places reported 14.2 million employees.
- In 2022, U.S. restaurant eating and drinking places reported $472.4 billion in total labor income.
- A trade-association estimate put direct U.S. eating-and-drinking-place output at $1.4 trillion in 2024 dollars, based on 2022 data.
- The same estimate put direct restaurant-industry output at 6% of U.S. real GDP.
- Including indirect and induced effects, the broader U.S. restaurant and foodservice impact was estimated at $3.5 trillion in total output in 2024 dollars, based on 2022 data.
- Foodservice sales reached $1.41 trillion in constant 2025 dollars in 2025 in the United States.
- Food away from home represented 56.3% of U.S. food expenditures in 2025.
- Full-service restaurants represented 36.3% of U.S. food-away-from-home sales in 2024.
- Limited-service restaurants represented 36.2% of U.S. food-away-from-home sales in 2024.
- Food and beverage serving and related workers held about 5.0 million U.S. jobs in 2024.
- Fast-food and counter workers held 3,796,000 U.S. jobs in 2024.
- The median hourly wage for U.S. food and beverage serving and related workers was $14.92 in May 2024.
- Production and nonsupervisory employees in full-service restaurants averaged $19.88 per hour in March 2024.
- Food and beverage serving and related employment is projected to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034 in the United States.
- About 1,159,600 openings per year are projected for food and beverage serving and related workers over 2024–2034.
- The CDC estimates 9.9 million annual illnesses from the most common foodborne pathogens in the United States.
- The CDC estimates 53,000 annual hospitalizations from the most common foodborne pathogens in the United States.
- Foodborne illnesses cost the United States an estimated $74.7 billion per year in the CDC summary.
Contents
- Key Restaurant Industry Statistics
- Restaurant Industry Market Size and Economic Contribution
- Food-Away-From-Home Spending and Restaurant Sales Trends
- Full-Service, Limited-Service and Other Restaurant Segment Data
- Restaurant Workforce, Occupations and Pay
- Restaurant Employment Outlook and Labor Requirements
- Restaurant Food Safety Statistics and Operating Risks
Restaurant Industry Market Size and Economic Contribution
The National Restaurant Association’s National Statistics page presents a broad economic view based on public 2022 data. Its direct restaurant measure covers eating and drinking places, while its wider foodservice measure adds supplier, employee and surrounding-area effects.
| Measure | U.S. result | Period and definition |
|---|---|---|
| Direct output or sales | $1.4 trillion | 2022 data expressed in 2024 dollars; eating and drinking places |
| Direct share of real GDP | 6% | 2022 data expressed in 2024 dollars; estimate |
| Direct employees | 14.2 million | 2022; eating and drinking places |
| Direct labor income | $472.4 billion | 2022; wages, salaries, proprietors’ income and benefits |
| Broader total output | $3.5 trillion | 2022 data expressed in 2024 dollars; direct, indirect and induced effects |
| Broader real-GDP share | 15.6% | 2022 data expressed in 2024 dollars; direct, indirect and induced effects |
| Broader impact employment | 22.9 million | 2022 data expressed in 2024 dollars; not restaurant payroll jobs only |
| Broader total labor income | $1.1 trillion | 2022 data expressed in 2024 dollars; direct, indirect and induced estimate |
Source: National Statistics, National Restaurant Association. The direct figures are an association presentation of public data, while the broader figures are economic-contribution estimates and should not be read as direct restaurant sales.
The population and accounting basis matter. “Eating and drinking places,” “restaurant and foodservice,” and “food-away-from-home” are overlapping but different categories, so their totals should not be combined as though they described one identical industry.
Food-Away-From-Home Spending and Restaurant Sales Trends
USDA Economic Research Service data show long-run growth in foodservice spending after adjusting for inflation. Foodservice includes more than restaurants, so the series is useful for market context rather than a restaurant-only sales count.
| Measure | Earlier period | Later period | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foodservice sales, constant 2025 dollars | $818 billion in 1997 | $1.41 trillion in 2025 | 73.0% inflation-adjusted increase |
| Total food sales, constant 2025 dollars | $1.56 trillion in 1997 | $2.51 trillion in 2025 | Includes food at home and away from home |
| Full-service establishment sales, constant 2025 dollars | $294.2 billion in 1997 | $488.4 billion in 2025 | 66.0% inflation-adjusted increase |
| Limited-service establishment sales, constant 2025 dollars | $273.8 billion in 1997 | $516.1 billion in 2025 | 88.5% inflation-adjusted increase |
Source: Food Service Industry – Market Segments, USDA Economic Research Service. These are inflation-adjusted ERS estimates, and foodservice covers more than restaurants.
In 2025, food away from home represented 56.3% of total U.S. food expenditures, compared with 43.7% for food at home. Those are nominal expenditure shares, unlike the constant-dollar sales series above.
ERS also reported $969.4 billion in U.S. food-away-from-home expenditures in 2019, compared with $799.4 billion for food at home. The 2019 food-away-from-home total includes restaurants, schools, sports venues and other outlets.
Monthly 2025 data show variation within restaurant categories. Average daily inflation-adjusted full-service sales were $1,193 million in January and peaked at $1,427 million in May, while limited-service sales were $1,277 million in January and peaked at $1,493 million in May.
Full-Service, Limited-Service and Other Restaurant Segment Data
The ERS outlet classifications show how restaurant segments fit inside the broader food-away-from-home market. In 2024, full-service restaurants represented 36.3% of FAFH sales, limited-service restaurants 36.2%, and other FAFH outlets 27.4%.
| Segment or outlet group | Share | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants | 36.3% | 2024 FAFH sales |
| Limited-service restaurants | 36.2% | 2024 FAFH sales |
| Other FAFH outlets | 27.4% | 2024; hotels, drinking places and other noncommercial outlets |
| Full-service restaurants | 35.9% | 1997 FAFH spending |
| Limited-service restaurants | 34.6% | 2010 FAFH spending |
| Limited-service restaurants | 37.6% | 2020 FAFH spending; pandemic year |
| Full- and limited-service combined | More than two-thirds | 2023 FAFH spending |
Sources: Food Service Industry – Market Segments, USDA ERS and Limited-service restaurants captured the largest share of food-away-from-home spending from 2019 to 2023, USDA ERS. The ERS classification is not the same as a census of independently owned restaurants.
The 2019 composition illustrates why FAFH should not be treated as restaurant-only spending. Schools and colleges accounted for 7.3% of FAFH expenditures, retail stores and vending machines 4.1%, hotels and motels 4.0%, recreational places 3.5%, and drinking places plus other FAFH sales 3.2%.
A separate ERS summary reported that full-service restaurants accounted for 35.9% of FAFH spending in 1997, while limited-service restaurants reached 37.6% in 2020. In 2023, the two restaurant categories together accounted for more than two-thirds of FAFH spending.
Restaurant Workforce, Occupations and Pay
The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures restaurant labor through both occupations and industries. In 2024, food and beverage serving and related workers held about 5.0 million U.S. jobs, but that occupation group also includes nonrestaurant employers.
| Occupation or measure | 2024 result | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Food and beverage serving and related workers | About 5.0 million jobs | Occupation group |
| Fast-food and counter workers | 3,796,000 jobs | Occupation |
| Dining-room attendants and bartender helpers | 527,400 jobs | Occupation group |
| Restaurant, lounge and coffee-shop hosts and hostesses | 429,900 jobs | Occupation group |
| Food servers outside restaurants | 277,200 jobs | Nonrestaurant occupation group |
Source: Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Food services and drinking places employed 82% of food and beverage serving workers in 2024. Retail trade and healthcare and social assistance each employed 4%, educational services 3%, and traveler accommodation 2%, demonstrating why occupation totals are not restaurant payroll totals.
The May 2024 median hourly wage for the occupation group was $14.92. The lowest 10% earned below $10.88 per hour, while the highest 10% earned above $19.65; these are occupation-wide figures, not restaurant-only wage measures, and the source notes that tips treatment details are not captured here.
Industry-specific CES data provide another view for March 2024. Production and nonsupervisory employees averaged $18.36 per hour in food services and drinking places, $19.88 in full-service restaurants, and $15.85 in limited-service restaurants.
Source: Table B-8b, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees, not all restaurant workers.
Restaurant Employment Outlook and Labor Requirements
BLS projections indicate continued demand for food and beverage serving occupations, but projections are not guarantees. The 2024–2034 outlook includes both expansion and replacement needs.
| Forecast measure | 2024 | 2034 | Change or annual result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food and beverage serving and related employment | 5,030,600 | 5,298,600 | 5% projected growth |
| Fast-food and counter-worker employment | Not stated in the supplied comparison | Not stated in the supplied comparison | 6% projected growth; 233,200 additional jobs |
| Average annual openings, food and beverage serving and related | — | — | 1,159,600 over 2024–2034 |
| Food-preparation and serving related occupations overall | — | — | 4.4% projected growth |
| Restaurant cooks | 1,417,500 | 1,588,800 | Projected increase |
| Fast-food cooks | 640,500 | 644,100 | Projected level |
Sources: Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers, BLS and Occupational projections and worker characteristics, BLS.
The projected 1,159,600 annual openings include replacement needs as well as growth, so they do not represent only newly created restaurant jobs. The restaurant-cook projection is an occupation measure across industries classified in the occupation, while fast-food and counter-worker projections are a separate occupation series.
Restaurant Food Safety Statistics and Operating Risks
Food safety is a national public-health issue, not a restaurant-only outcome. CDC estimates describe illnesses from the most common foodborne pathogens across the United States and do not attribute all cases to restaurants.
| CDC estimate | Annual U.S. result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Reported foodborne-disease outbreaks | Approximately 800 | All reported outbreaks; not all restaurant-originated |
| Illnesses | 9.9 million | Most common foodborne pathogens |
| Hospitalizations | 53,000 | Most common foodborne pathogens |
| Deaths | 931 | Most common foodborne pathogens |
| Economic cost | $74.7 billion | National foodborne-illness cost, not restaurant operating cost |
Source: About Restaurant Food Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures are CDC estimates and should not be interpreted as restaurant-attributable totals.
Restaurants also face operational hazards such as hot ovens and slippery floors. The BLS occupation source documents those hazards descriptively, but the supplied data do not quantify injury incidence, so no injury rate is assigned here.
The workforce context is substantial: food and beverage serving and related workers held about 5.0 million U.S. jobs in 2024. That employment figure describes the occupation group, while the food-safety estimates describe national pathogen outcomes, and the two populations should remain separate.