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Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders Salary in Houston, TX

In the 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS dataset, Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders in Houston, TX have a median annual salary of $32,180, with 600 recorded jobs in this area. Recorded earnings range from $24,870 at the 10th percentile to $43,660 at the 90th percentile.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · Data year: 2025 · Last updated: 2026-09-22

Salary overview

Median annual salary

$32,180

Data year: 2025

Hourly median

$15.47

Employment

600

Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Salary distribution

$24,870
10th
$30,170
25th
$32,180
Median
$36,040
75th
$43,660
90th

Local compared with national

Houston, TX

$32,180

Median annual · 2025

United States

$41,590

Median annual · 2025

The Houston, TX median is 22.6% below the national median in the available dataset (a difference of $9,410).

Top skills

  1. 1.Operations MonitoringImportance 3.5
  2. 2.Reading ComprehensionImportance 3.1
  3. 3.MonitoringImportance 3.1
  4. 4.Operation and ControlImportance 3.1
  5. 5.Active ListeningImportance 3.0
  6. 6.Critical ThinkingImportance 3.0
  7. 7.CoordinationImportance 2.9
  8. 8.Complex Problem SolvingImportance 2.9
  9. 9.WritingImportance 2.8
  10. 10.Quality Control AnalysisImportance 2.8
  11. 11.Judgment and Decision MakingImportance 2.8
  12. 12.SpeakingImportance 2.6

Career information

Education and experience

Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months
Job zone
2

Technology used

  • Database software

Common tasks

  • Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
  • Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
  • Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
  • Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
  • Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
  • Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.
  • Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps.
  • Remove cooked material or products from equipment.
  • Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
  • Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist.

Related careers

Occupations recorded as related in the dataset. A relationship does not imply a guaranteed transition.

Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders salary in other locations

Other occupations in Houston, TX