|  | Diet Nutrition | Nutrition

How Much Salary Does a Menu Planner Make?

Managers of restaurants and other food service facilities must decide what to place on their menus. To do this, they sometimes hire part- or full-time menu planners. These workers don't prepare food, but work with chefs and managers to develop cuisine options for customers. Pay in this field usually doesn't exceed $50,000 even in the best food service sectors.

  1. Classification and Average Pay

    • Menu planners fall into the "Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other" category with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This differentiates them from chefs and those who may prepare simple dishes like sandwiches. People in this category averaged $22,760 per year in 2010, says the bureau. Hourly, this translates to $10.94, an increase of 1.2 percent from 2009 to 2010.

    Range

    • According to the BLS, workers earned $16,500 per year in the lowest 10th percentile in 2010. Converted to hourly pay, this is $7.93. Those in the 90th percentile earned $33,160 annually, or $15.94 per hour. Knowledge of culinary dishes, as well as the type of food establishment using the planner's services, influences the range.

    Pay by Sector

    • The highest employing sector in 2010 for the "Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other" category was full-service restaurants, employing 11,430 individuals, as the bureau reports. These workers had salaries that averaged $20,570 per year, or $9.89 per hour. The highest paying sector was the business, professional, labor, political and similar organizations sector, which paid $45,990 annually. Amusement parks and arcades paid $36,800. In the home health care services, pay was $29,920 per year. The facilities support sector provided $28,560, while civic and social organizations gave $27,800.

    Pay by Region

    • Hawaii paid the highest wages to menu planners in 2010 at $34,270 per year, says the bureau. The District of Columbia followed at $30,830. Alaska provided $27,300, Florida paid $26,910 and Oregon gave $26,700. South Carolina was the lowest paying region for menu planners in 2010, paying $16,770 per year. Idaho paid $17,110, while Nebraska provided $17,140. In New Mexico, annual pay averaged $17,570; Wisconsin salaries averaged $18,010.

    Bottom Line

    • As a menu planner, your pay likely will be around $23,000 based on 2010 data. However, menu planning can get your foot in the door to related careers like meeting and event planning, or help you in your quest to become a chef.

Nutrition - Related Articles