CDCareer Decision

Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders Salary in KY

In the 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS dataset, Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders in KY have a median annual salary of $41,800, with 300 recorded jobs in this area. Recorded earnings range from $36,360 at the 10th percentile to $52,990 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

$41,800

Data year: 2025

Hourly median

$20.09

Employment

300

Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Salary distribution

$36,360
10th
$38,040
25th
$41,800
Median
$52,780
75th
$52,990
90th

Local compared with national

KY

$41,800

Median annual · 2025

United States

$41,590

Median annual · 2025

The KY median is 0.5% above the national median in the available dataset (a difference of $210).

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 KY