Average Salary

• In its survey of employment conducted in 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculated that the average annual salary for a baker working in the United States was $25,350. This is equivalent to $2,113 a month and $12.19 an hour. The top 10 percent of earners received $37,520 while the bottom 10 percent earned an average of $16,600. For pastry chefs and other restaurant cooks, the average yearly salary was listed as $23,110, equal to $1,926 a month or $11.11 an hour. The top earners received an average of $31,770, while their counterparts in the bottom 10 percent earned an average of $16,140.
  
  

Salary by Industry

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics listed the two sectors of the food industry in which the vast majority of bakers were employed as bakeries and tortillas manufacturing, and grocery stores. It listed the average salaries for these sectors as $26,060 and $25,660, respectively. In contrast, limited service eating places offered $22,670. The majority of pastry chefs were employed in full-service restaurants and traveller accommodation, such as hotel restaurants. The average wages were given as $22,770 and $27,430, respectively. Pastry chefs working in limited-service eating places received an average of $20,490.
  
  

Salary by Location

• In a survey of baker salaries in some major American cities, wage comparison website SalaryExpert.com listed New York City and Boston, Massachusetts, as lucrative locales, paying averages of $27,440 and $27,388, respectively, with Orlando, Florida, offering only $21,935. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that across all industry sectors, a baker was likely to achieve the highest salaries in the District of Columbia and Washington state -- $30,860 and $30,500. In Vermont, the average was $26,120. Hawaii and Nevada were listed by the bureau as the most lucrative states for pastry chefs to work in, with average salaries of $30,450 and $29,220, respectively. Colorado was listed at just $23,010. SalaryExpert.com put Boston, Massachusetts, at the top of the table for cities offering pastry chefs the best salaries, at $30,981, while Houston, Texas, was listed at just $21,169.
  
  

Outlook

• For both bakers and pastry chefs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment opportunities to undergo slow growth in the decade from 2008 to 2018. It estimates that demand for bakers and other food preparation occupations will increase by 4 percent, while pastry chefs and other cooks will experience a 6 percent rise. This is slower than the national rate across all occupations, expected to be between 7 and 13 percent for the same period. An expanding population will fuel demand for food goods and eating places. As such, salary levels for the two occupations should remain competitive.