311/Food Manufacturing
US businesses, employees and payroll, 2017 to 2023
1.71M
employees, 2023
1.71M
employees, 2023
In 2023, 31,130 US Food Manufacturing business locations employed 1.71 million people and paid $95.4 billion in annual payroll, $55,880 per employee on average. Employment was up 3.3% from 2022. California had the most employees.
Updated Oct 9, 2026 · data year 2023
Business locations
31,130
+2.1% vs 2022
Employees
1,707,316
+3.3% vs 2022
Annual payroll
$95.4B
+7.1% vs 2022
Average pay
$55,880
+3.6% vs 2022
Over the years
United States, 2017 to 2023
Employees
Paid employees in mid-March
Business locations
Places with paid employees
By state
Employees of Food Manufacturing in each state, 2023
Employees by state
States with the most employees
Employees and the share of all the state's jobs
| State | Business locations | Employees | Average pay | Share of state jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 4,086 | 175,392 | $59,131 | 1.07% |
| Texas | 2,276 | 114,544 | $50,084 | 0.95% |
| Illinois | 1,433 | 89,684 | $64,122 | 1.58% |
| Wisconsin | 1,040 | 80,121 | $63,106 | 3.03% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,355 | 78,350 | $56,457 | 1.37% |
| Georgia | 766 | 72,868 | $48,647 | 1.65% |
| Ohio | 1,011 | 63,363 | $59,049 | 1.25% |
| North Carolina | 765 | 62,272 | $48,884 | 1.46% |
| Iowa | 503 | 57,496 | $64,643 | 4.06% |
| New York | 2,118 | 54,317 | $54,483 | 0.62% |
| Minnesota | 672 | 50,248 | $61,914 | 1.79% |
| Arkansas | 269 | 47,987 | $47,507 | 4.28% |
| Indiana | 571 | 44,438 | $57,316 | 1.52% |
| Missouri | 552 | 42,466 | $54,548 | 1.61% |
| Tennessee | 464 | 40,536 | $56,780 | 1.36% |
The 15 states with the most employees. Download the CSV for all 51.
Top metro areas
Metro and micro areas with the most Food Manufacturing employees, 2023
Metro areas with the most employees
| Metro area | Locations | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 1,065 | 60,587 | $66,471 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 1,506 | 48,014 | $59,136 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 2,233 | 47,956 | $52,946 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 549 | 28,867 | $55,516 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 387 | 25,446 | $51,944 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 551 | 25,341 | $57,334 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 512 | 18,750 | $66,483 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 587 | 16,449 | $63,766 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 184 | 16,207 | $65,697 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 321 | 15,467 | $62,752 |
| Fresno, CA | 116 | 14,843 | $48,959 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 396 | 14,255 | $65,237 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 102 | 14,245 | $65,152 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 498 | 14,162 | $43,477 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 212 | 13,147 | $55,066 |
Business size
US Food Manufacturing business locations by number of employees, 2023
Locations by size
| Employees | Locations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 | 10,911 | 35.0% |
| 5 to 9 | 5,358 | 17.2% |
| 10 to 19 | 4,905 | 15.8% |
| 20 to 49 | 4,341 | 13.9% |
| 50 to 99 | 1,994 | 6.4% |
| 100 to 249 | 1,996 | 6.4% |
| 250 to 499 | 928 | 3.0% |
| 500 to 999 | 483 | 1.6% |
| 1,000 or more | 214 | 0.7% |
Related industries
Food Manufacturing and the 9 industries directly below it
Part of Manufacturing 31-33
| Code | Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3116 | Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 556,205 | $50,981 |
| 3118 | Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing | 318,225 | $46,744 |
| 3119 | Other Food Manufacturing | 257,870 | $60,100 |
| 3114 | Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing | 166,936 | $58,383 |
| 3115 | Dairy Product Manufacturing | 164,416 | $66,106 |
| 3113 | Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing | 85,786 | $60,416 |
| 3111 | Animal Food Manufacturing | 64,800 | $68,915 |
| 3112 | Grain and Oilseed Milling | 63,946 | $72,597 |
| 3117 | Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging | 29,132 | $60,776 |
Questions and answers
How many people work in Food Manufacturing in the US?
1.71 million people worked at 31,130 US Food Manufacturing business locations in 2023, up 3.3% from 2022. That is 1.22% of all US private-sector employees.
What is the average pay in Food Manufacturing?
$55,880 a year per employee in 2023, from $95.4 billion in annual payroll (up 3.6% from 2022). The average across all US industries was $68,342.
Which state has the most Food Manufacturing jobs?
California had the most, with 175,392 employees in 2023, followed by Texas (114,544) and Illinois (89,684).
Which metro areas have the most Food Manufacturing jobs?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (60,587), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (48,014), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (47,956) had the most Food Manufacturing employees in 2023.
Are most Food Manufacturing businesses small?
68.0% of the 31,130 Food Manufacturing business locations had fewer than 20 employees in 2023, and 697 had 500 or more.
Official US government statistics, published once a year. Business locations are places with paid employees; employees are counted in mid-March; payroll covers the whole year. Covers most private employers, not the self-employed, most government workers or farm workers on farms. Changes from the year before are shown only when both years use the same edition of the industry codes.