Food Business Cost Benchmarks: Every Figure, With Sources
This page collects every cost benchmark published across this site into one reference, with the publisher and date shown against each figure. The National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry report is the only source here based on a survey with a stated methodology; the cost ratios come from hospitality accountancy and trade sources and describe conventional practice. Both are labelled, so you can tell which is which.
Figures verified July 2026
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Labour, full-service median (survey) | 36.5% of sales |
| Labour, full-service profitable operators (survey) | 34.2% of sales |
| Labour, limited-service median (survey) | 31.7% of sales |
| Labour, independent coffee shop (quoted) | 28–35% of revenue |
| Labour, bar and pub (quoted) | 25–35% of revenue |
| Food cost, restaurants generally (quoted) | 28–35% of sales |
| Coffee shop cost of goods (quoted) | 25–35% of revenue |
| Prime cost ceiling, full service (quoted) | 65% of sales |
| Prime cost ceiling, quick service (quoted) | 60% of sales |
How to read this table
Two kinds of number sit here. The labour figures come from the National Restaurant Association’s survey of operators, which has a methodology you can go and read. The cost ratios are conventions: widely quoted, broadly sensible, and not the output of anyone counting. Both are useful; they just carry different weight, and you should know which you’re looking at before you set a target from one.
What we don’t publish
There’s no reliable published benchmark for food truck margins, bakery costs, catering percentages or ghost kitchen profitability. Plenty of pages online quote figures for all four. We haven’t found a source behind any of them, so those numbers aren’t here.
Keeping it current
Wage rates change on fixed dates and survey editions get republished, so every figure carries the date it was last checked against its source. Our build fails if any of them goes more than four months without re-verification, which is a slightly blunt mechanism but it means the numbers on this page are the numbers we actually believe.
Every figure with its source
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Labour, full-service median1 | 36.5% | National Restaurant Association2026 |
| Labour, full-service profitable operators2 | 34.2% | National Restaurant Association2026 |
| Labour, limited-service median3 | 31.7% | National Restaurant Association2026 |
| Labour, independent coffee shop4 | 28–35% | Barista LifeAccessed July 2026 |
| Labour, bar and pub5 | 25–35% | The Fork CPAsAccessed July 2026 |
| Food cost, restaurants generally6 | 28–35% | WhippleWood CPAs2026 |
| Coffee shop cost of goods7 | 25–35% | Barista LifeAccessed July 2026 |
| Prime cost ceiling, full service8 | 65% | The Fork CPAsAccessed July 2026 |
| Prime cost ceiling, quick service9 | 60% | The Fork CPAsAccessed July 2026 |
| Cooks, restaurant — US median hourly10 | $17.71/hr | U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMay 2024 |
| Waiters and waitresses — US median hourly11 | $16.23/hr | U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMay 2024 |
1 Survey data. Wages including benefits.
2 Survey data.
3 Survey data. Wages including benefits.
4 A trade convention, not survey data.
5 Quoted across the trade; no measured source behind it.
6 Convention rather than measurement.
7 Commonly cited. Not a surveyed figure.
8 Quoted guideline.
9 Quoted guideline.
10 National median, US only.
11 National median, US only. Excludes tips outside payroll.
For the same numbers organised by type of business, see the cost benchmarks by food business, and for what staff cost where you trade, see labour costs by region. If you run a table-service site, queue management software is the operational side of the throughput problem these figures keep pointing at.
Run your own numbers
Frequently asked questions
Where do restaurant cost benchmarks come from?
The labour figures on this page come from the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry survey. The cost ratios come from hospitality accountancy sources and describe conventional practice rather than measured results.
Are food cost benchmarks reliable?
Less than they appear. The widely quoted 28–35% band is a convention rather than a survey finding, and menu mix moves individual businesses well outside it for entirely legitimate reasons.
What benchmarks exist for food trucks and bakeries?
None that we’ve found a credible source for. Figures circulate online for both, but we haven’t been able to trace them to anyone who measured anything, so we don’t publish them.
How often are these figures updated?
Each one carries the date it was last checked against its source, and our build fails if any figure goes more than four months without re-verification.
Related
- Labour Cost Percentage by Type of RestaurantWhere each format sits, and why the gaps between them are structural.
- Food Cost Percentage by Type of Food BusinessThe quoted ranges by format, and an honest account of where they come from.
- Prime Cost: What It Is and What Yours Should BeFood plus labour, and the one ratio worth managing against.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey by occupationMay 2024 · Government / statistical
- National Restaurant Association — 2026 State of the Restaurant Industry2026 · Industry research
- Barista Life — Coffee Shop Labor Cost PercentageAccessed July 2026 · Trade press — cited convention, not measured data
- The Fork CPAs — The Ideal Labor Cost for a Restaurant or BarAccessed July 2026 · Trade press — cited convention, not measured data
- WhippleWood CPAs — Restaurant Financial Benchmarks 20262026 · Trade press — cited convention, not measured data