Baristas
Hospitality and TourismO*NET 35-3023.01United States
Prepare or serve specialty coffee or other beverages. Serve food such as baked goods or sandwiches to patrons.
- Median annual earnings
- $31,164
- Projected change
- +9.3%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 3.88M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
85.9% of the workforce
Growing to 4.24M by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What baristas do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Receive and process customer payments.
- Prepare or serve hot or cold beverages, such as coffee, espresso drinks, blended coffees, or teas.
- Clean or sanitize work areas, utensils, or equipment.
- Take customer orders and convey them to other employees for preparation.
- Clean service or seating areas.
- Describe menu items to customers, or suggest products that might appeal to them.
- Serve prepared foods, such as muffins, biscotti, or bagels.
- Prepare or serve menu items, such as sandwiches or salads.
- Set up or restock product displays.
- Provide customers with product details, such as coffee blend or preparation descriptions.
- Stock customer service stations with paper products or beverage preparation items.
- Weigh, grind, or pack coffee beans for customers.
- Wrap, label, or date food items for sale.
- Take out garbage.
- Order, receive, or stock supplies or retail products.
- Slice fruits, vegetables, desserts, or meats for use in food service.
- Check temperatures of freezers, refrigerators, or heating equipment to ensure proper functioning.
- Demonstrate the use of retail equipment, such as espresso machines.
- Create signs to advertise store products or events.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $22,774
- 25th percentile
- $27,644
- 50th percentile
- $31,164
- 75th percentile
- $36,078
- 90th percentile
- $42,864
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $31,164 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9.3%faster than average
20253,883,888 jobs
2035 projected4,243,722 jobs
359,834 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 85.9%
- Some college
- 8.6%
- Bachelor's degree
- 5.5%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Baristas58,901 postings
- 02Baristas/Cashiers3,506 postings
- 03Lead Baristas1,816 postings
- 04Juicers1,767 postings
- 05Coffee Baristas1,680 postings
- 06Baristas/Servers1,250 postings
- 07Coffee Shop Baristas771 postings
- 08Team Members770 postings
- 09Baristas/Bartenders703 postings
- 10Cafe Baristas642 postings
- 11Baristas/Dessert Finishers595 postings
- 12Managers/Baristas460 postings
- 13Shift Lead Baristas438 postings
- 14Baristas Associate402 postings
- 15Baristas/Cafe Servers358 postings
- 16Baristas/Cooks332 postings
- 17Barista Trainers293 postings
- 18Specialty Coffee Managers290 postings
- 19Cafe Associates263 postings
- 20Bartenders/Baristas219 postings
Top employers
- 01Starbucks29,464 postings
- 02Kroger1,435 postings
- 03Albertsons1,423 postings
- 04Compass Group1,316 postings
- 05Scooter's Coffee1,056 postings
- 06Acosta Group896 postings
- 07Aramark808 postings
- 08Safeway723 postings
- 09Barnes & Noble720 postings
- 10Sodexo719 postings
- 11Product Connections654 postings
- 12Dunkin' Donuts607 postings
- 13Cheesecake Factory565 postings
- 14Target561 postings
- 15Macy's555 postings
- 16Marriott International524 postings
- 17Harris Teeter350 postings
- 18Hy-Vee346 postings
- 19United Supermarkets304 postings
- 20Hilton303 postings
Keep looking