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Role hub · Bakers

Baker: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of bakers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$37,160
Hourly
$17.86
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Bakers mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods. The median pay is $37,160 a year ($17.86 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).

Median pay
$37,160
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
236,200
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 1-2 of 5
very little to some preparation
Key facts

Bakers at a glance

  • Bakers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $37,160 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry-level education for bakers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of bakers in the United States to grow 5.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 36,500 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimates that less than 0.5% of bakers in the United States had the ability to telework in 2025, a preliminary estimate of whether the job allows it, not a count of remote jobs.

    Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 preliminary

Explore the role

Every page for Bakers

SalaryBaker salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →ResumeBaker resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsBaker interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What bakers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Measure or weigh flour or other ingredients to prepare batters, doughs, fillings, or icings, using scales or graduated containers.
  2. Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.
  3. Check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods.
  4. Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
  5. Adapt the quantity of ingredients to match the amount of items to be baked.
  6. Place dough in pans, molds, or on sheets, and bake in production ovens or on grills.
  7. Observe color of products being baked, and adjust oven temperatures, humidity, or conveyor speeds accordingly.
  8. Set time and speed controls for mixing machines, blending machines, or steam kettles so that ingredients will be mixed or cooked according to instructions.
Job requirements

What the job requires

Data BLS figures for bakers (SOC 51-3011), 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey.

Telework available
less than 0.5%
of workers had the ability to telework
Most common strength level
Medium
65.1% of workers
Can pause work
35.5%
of workers could take short, unscheduled breaks
Self-paced workload
less than 0.5%
of workers set their own workload
Employer-changed schedules
52.7%
of workers had schedules changed by the employer week to week

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey. Estimates are preliminary; ranges are shown as published.

Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all baker jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Food manufacturing31.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +7.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $38,590
  2. Food services and drinking places25.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $36,670
  3. Food and beverage retailers23.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $38,110
  4. General merchandise retailers5.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $46,430
  5. Accommodation1.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $50,110
  6. Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods0.7% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $39,520

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Judgment and Decision MakingcoreTime ManagementcoreActive ListeningcoreQuality Control AnalysisReading ComprehensionSpeakingCritical ThinkingMonitoringCoordination

Knowledge areas: Production and Processing, Food Production.

Tools and technology

Software bakers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • ADP Enterprise eTIMETime accounting software
  • Axxya Systems Nutritionist ProAnalytical or scientific software
  • EGS CALCMENUAnalytical or scientific software
  • Enggist & Grandjean EGS F&B ControlMaterials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
  • SoftCafe MenuProDesktop publishing software
  • SweetWARE nutraCoster ProfessionalAnalytical or scientific software
  • SweetWARE stockCosterInventory management software
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Afcom Datasafe Computer Services FlexiBakeEnterprise resource planning ERP software

Also called: Bakery Worker, Bread Baker, Cake Baker, Cake Decorator, Dough Mixer, Mixer.

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Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.