Bakers are employed in the production of baked goods such as breads, rolls, pastries, cakes and pies, and most frequently find work in food manufacturing, bakeries, grocery stores and restaurants. The average salary a baker can expect to bring home really depends on the geographical area and the industry in which he is employed.
As of 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average hourly wage for a baker was $12.10 and the average annual salary was $25,160. The median of all reported salaries for bakers was $23,250. The lowest-earning quartile of bakers made $9.16 or less per hour and reported an annual salary of $19,060, while the highest-earning quartile reported an hourly wage of at least $14.21 and annual earnings of $29,560 or more. The highest-paid 10 percent of all bakers reported annual earnings of $37,070 or more.
Earnings by State
Bakers in Hawaii ($32,140), Washington, D.C. ($31,220) and Alaska ($31,130) earned a higher average salary than bakers in any other state in 2011, according to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other high-paying states for bakers included Massachusetts ($29,810), Connecticut ($28,720), Minnesota ($28,290), Washington ($28,310) and Oregon ($28,530). Bakers in Arkansas, where the average annual salary was $20,540, reported the lowest wages for bakers in the nation.
Pay by Geographical Area
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest-paying metropolitan area for bakers as of 2011 was the Winchester area of Virginia and West Virginia, where bakers reported an annual average salary of $37,330, significantly above the national average. Other lucrative areas for bakers included the Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford metropolitan area of Massachusetts and New Hampshire ($36,560) and the Framingham metropolitan area of Massachusetts ($34,190). The most lucrative non-metropolitan areas for bakers were the islands of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai ($34,040) and southeastern Minnesota ($32,000).
Pay by Industry
Employment with the executive branch of the federal government was far and away the most lucrative employment sector for bakers in 2011, where the reported average salary was $46,530. Other high-paying industries were elementary and secondary schools ($34,000), state government ($33,430) and colleges and universities ($31,110). Bakers working in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing reported average earnings of $26,150, those working in grocery stores earned an average salary of $25,420 and those employed in full-service restaurants reported an average annual salary of $24,100.
2016 Salary Information for Bakers
Bakers earned a median annual salary of $25,090 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, bakers earned a 25th percentile salary of $20,980, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $31,110, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 191,000 people were employed in the U.S. as bakers.
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