What is the lowest paid job?

The 50 Lowest-Paying Jobs in America

There are very few challenges that are more challenging than attempting to make ends meet on a wage that is just not substantial enough. The United States of America is home to some of the hardest-working individuals in the world, yet many of them are stuck in positions that pay poor wages and provide little in the way of financial reward. You can find yourself in a position where you need to supplement your full-time income with one or two part-time jobs in order to make ends meet if you are earning close to or slightly over the federal minimum wage.

As a result, it is necessary to conduct a more in-depth investigation into the kind of labor that the economy values the least. GOBankingRates developed a list of the 50 professions that pay the least using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The list includes the lowest paying jobs in the country. Some of the lowest-paying occupations in the United States are entry-level roles that need little experience or education and are simple to fill. In other situations, you may be surprised to learn that people who put in a lot of effort and whose professions are among the most challenging are nonetheless among the lowest paid individuals.


Workers Involved in Both the Preparation and Serving of Food, Including Those in the Fast Food Industry

The mean yearly pay is $22,140.

There's a good reason why people who work in fast food restaurants are often at the heart of discussions over what constitutes a decent wage. The United States' 3.68 million people who are employed in food preparation and service are the nation's lowest-paid employees, with a median hourly salary that is only slightly more than $10 an hour.


Shampooers

The mean yearly pay is $22,160.

The shampooers at your salon make about the same amount of money as the standard worker in the food preparation industry. On the other hand, there are just little more than 13,000 shampooers in the country, so it's a far smaller group.


Cooks, Food Service Workers

The mean yearly pay is $22,650.

Cooks at fast-food restaurants make more than many of their coworkers, but only barely, with an hourly wage of just under 11 dollars. In addition, there are less than 500,000 positions like this one available throughout the country.


Gaming Dealers

The mean yearly pay is $23,070.

Even though large amounts of money could be moving around the blackjack table, the dealer only takes home a small portion of what's on the table at any one time. Remember to give a tip if you win a significant amount of money at the casino since the typical hourly income for casino dealers is just around $10 an hour.


Dishwashers

The mean yearly pay is $23,190.

Dishwashing is the primary source of income for little more than half a million people living in the United States. The average wage for an hour's work is somewhat more than $11 an hour.


Coffee Shops, Food Concessions, and Counter Attendants in Cafeterias and Cafes

The mean yearly pay is $23,240.

People who work in cafeterias or coffee shops may anticipate earning a salary that is somewhat higher than that of their counterparts who work in fast-food restaurants. The yearly pay they take home on average is slightly over $23,000.


Cashiers

The mean yearly pay is $23,240.

Although previous work experience is not required for the position of cashier, the hourly wage for this job is less than $11 dollars.


Restaurant, bar, and coffee shop with Hosts and Hostesses also Featured

The mean yearly pay is $23,260.

When entering a business, guests are often greeted by the host or hostess of the facility, such as at a restaurant. It's also a good guess that they're among the lowest paid, since their median hourly pay comes out to only $10.65 an hour.


Attendants of Amusement and Recreational Events

The mean yearly pay is $23,460.

As a first job for many adolescents, working at a local amusement or water park is a traditional choice, thus it is possible that it should not come as a surprise that salaries are so low for this career. Just $10.70 is what the median hourly wage ends out to be.


Attendants in the lobby, ticket takers, and ushers all come to mind.

The mean yearly pay is $23,610.

The many ushers, attendants, and ticket takers who assist control the crowds are among the lowest-paid employees available. This is true regardless of whether you are at a large movie multiplex or a small village theatre. On the other hand, there are less than 135,000 positions available for this throughout the country.


Dining Area in Addition to Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers

The mean yearly pay is $23,950.

These job titles are just a much longer way of expressing "busboy," although a method that is gender-neutral and does not include the word "busboy." Regardless of what you want to refer to these employees as, the median hourly income that they make is $10.71.


Materials Related to Textiles and Clothing, Including Pressers and Garments

The mean yearly pay is $24,060.

Pressers use either their hands or machines to press or shape the clothing they work on. However, it is not job that pays very well, since the typical compensation for their position is just $11.23 per hour.


Workers in the Recreational Protective Services, Including Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Others

The mean yearly pay is $24,420.

When one considers the significance of their profession, it is reasonable to anticipate that employees in related fields, such as ski patrol or lifeguarding, be compensated more generously. However, the hourly salary that is received by the over 150,000 persons who are employed in this field is $10.77 on average.


Employees Who Do Dry Cleaning and Laundry

The mean yearly pay is $24,480.

When you consider how much it costs to have your clothing dry cleaned, you may think that those who work in laundry and dry-cleaning facilities get a higher wage than others. However, it does not seem that the employees in the sector will be the major benefactors of your money, since they only make a little bit more than $11 an hour.


Workers in Child Care Facilities

The mean yearly pay is $24,610.

Child care professionals aren't in it for the money, and it's evident that they don't do it for that reason. Our is another important job that appears on this list, which may cause some people to feel uneasy. With an annual income of less than $25,000, it is probable that they are having trouble making ends meet, particularly if they are living in the city.


Workers in the Food Preparation Industry

The national mean pay is $24,830 per year.

Investments in restaurants are famously hazardous and costly, but this is not due to the fact that labor expenses are higher than average for the industry. The food service business is home to many of the lowest-paying occupations in the nation, and the position of prep cook is among the lowest of the low-paying positions.


Servers of Food Outside of Restaurants

The median yearly salary is $24,980.

Outside of merely restaurants, there is a large number of opportunity in the food service industry. In addition to this, the median hourly compensation for these positions is about one dollar more than the total wage for employees in the food preparation and service industries.


Personal Care Aides

The mean yearly pay is $25,090.

The first job on our list to cross $25,000 a year, the typical hourly income for personal care aides in the United States is $11.55. There are around 2 million personal care aides in the United States.


Hotel, Motel and Resort Desk Clerks

The mean yearly pay is $25,130.

There are around a quarter of a million people working as desk clerks in hotels and motels in the United States. The check-in and check-out staff members who assist you make an average hourly wage of around $11.39


Parking Lot Attendants

The mean yearly pay is $25,130.

The typical hourly income for the 145,900 people who work as parking lot attendants in the United States is $11.47, which is equivalent to little more than $25,000 per year.


Short Order Cooks

The mean yearly pay is $25,140.

Even though the most of the culinary jobs mentioned up to this point need nothing more than basic training, short-order cooks are among the most proficient in the industry. The disparity in pay, however, falls short of what one would anticipate, with short order cooks often making less than $11.50 an hour.


Personal Care Aides at Home

The mean yearly pay is $25,330.

As a result of the aging of the baby boomer cohort, there is likely going to be a continued increase in demand for home health aides for the foreseeable future. And let's hope that, for their benefit, it helps push up their salary, because that would be great. An hourly compensation of $11.63 is considered to be the norm for home health aides.


Workers Related to Food Preparation and Serving, Others Related to Food Preparation and Serving

The mean yearly pay is $25,430.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these employees are defined as "all food preparation and serving related workers not included individually." This group functions as somewhat of a catchall for food workers whose duties are not explicitly described.


Housekeepers, including Maids and Cleaners

The mean yearly pay is $25,570.

Working as a maid at a facility such as a hotel may be really challenging job since it requires you to be on your feet and active for the whole of the workday. There are definitely some opportunities for housekeeping on a smaller scale that are more concentrated, but the pay is often not particularly good across the board for this sort of work. Even those in the top 10 percent of earners make just little more than $17 an hour on average.


The Projectionists of Moving Pictures

The mean yearly pay is $25,820.

It's been a long time since projectionists needed to change reels at least five or six times for each picture, so it may make sense that they don't make as much money as they used to. They are probably not earning all that much more money than the ones who are working in concessions since the typical hourly income is less than $11.


Waiter and Waitresses

The mean yearly pay is $25,830.

There is no question that this is one industry in which it is difficult to determine how accurate the reported mean annual pay really is. There are a lot of waiters and waitresses who are barely making it by, but there are also a lot of waiters and waitresses who are fortunate enough to be pulling down tons of tips at popular spots, a lot of which isn't getting reported, and earning a much better hourly rate than their official BLS figure would reveal.


Specialists in Manicures and Pedicures

The mean yearly pay is $25,860.

Although there are slightly more than 110,000 professional manicurists and pedicurists in the United States, these individuals do not make a significant amount of money from the maintenance of your cuticles. The median salary for an hour is now determined to be $11.70.


Nonfarm Animal Caretakers

Mean yearly wage: $25,890

Taking care of a pet may be a lot of effort, and animals do not stop requiring care just because you decide to go on vacation. This might make it difficult to leave your pet in someone else's care while you are away. Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that there are approximately 200,000 animal caregivers who do not work on farms in the United States. These individuals find employment in kennels, animal shelters, and even in the circus.


Attendants of Service for Automobiles and Other Watercraft

The mean yearly pay is $25,940.

Whether they work on automobiles or boats, mechanics are consistently ranked among the worst 50 occupations in terms of pay. And with a typical hourly wage of $11.64, it may cause some individuals to scrutinize the amount that the neighborhood garage is charging for "work" more carefully.


Farmhands and other laborers, as well as crop, nursery, and greenhouse personnel

The mean yearly pay is $26,450.

The low pay offered to farmworkers who are responsible for cultivating inexpensive food is the true cost of having so much inexpensive food accessible on the shelves of supermarkets. Because the typical hourly pay in the country is $11.69, many farmers are able to keep their prices low and pass the savings on to customers in the form of affordable food.


Packers and Packagers, Hand

The mean yearly pay is $26,490.

In the United States, there are over 650,000 people working in the packing and packaging industry. And as more and more people are turning to online shopping and package mailings, it is probably fair to expect that number will continue to rise in the years to come.


Agricultural Products Classifiers and Separators

The mean yearly pay is $26,510.

When transporting product from the farm to the customer, it is critical to ensure that different types of food are sorted into the appropriate categories. This includes fruits and vegetables. The annual pay of these employees come to only little more than $26,000 on average. Despite this, the workers do not make a lot of money.


Attendants in the Dressing Room, the Coatroom, and the Locker Room

The mean yearly pay is $26,720.

There are just 17,610 persons working in the United States as locker room, coatroom, and dressing room attendants, making it the occupation with the fewest people employed thus far on this list.


Bartenders

The mean yearly pay is $26,780.

The BLS presumably isn't accounting for the full scope of this worker's compensation since this is another trade that relies heavily on gratuities. Wages earned on an hourly basis are not often the main source of revenue for the majority of mixologists.


Vehicle and Equipment Cleaners (also Known As)

The mean yearly pay is $26,900.

It is difficult to ignore the fact that those who are responsible for cleaning cars and equipment earn almost $1,400 more annually than those who work in housekeeping. On the other hand, even if it isn't dusted on a consistent basis, your room won't suddenly become inoperable and stop functioning, so this may make sense.


Baggage Porters and Bellhops

The mean yearly pay is $26,990.

The jobs of bellhops and other employees who assist you with your luggage are consistently ranked among the lowest-paying jobs in the nation. Their hourly income, on average, amounts to only $11.64 per hour.


Those Who Operate Sewing Machines

The mean yearly pay is $26,990.

Sewing machine operators create and mend clothing with the aid of machines, although they don't earn very much money doing it. At such rate, a weekly payment of somewhat more than $500 is required.


Those Responsible for Changing Money and Cashiers at the Booths

The average yearly salary is $27,220

Cashiers at places like casinos and racetracks sometimes deal with enormous quantities of money, yet at the end of the day, they take home a very little portion of what they've earned for themselves. Their hourly rate of slightly about $12 is considered to be their median wage.


Cooks, Restaurant

The mean yearly salary is $27 580.

Cooks are farther up the food chain for restaurant employees, with 1.34 million individuals employed in this capacity throughout the United States. Despite this, they bring in an average of around $2,300 per month in salaries, which are considered to be rather poor.


Workers in All Other Types of the Food Processing Industry

The mean yearly salary is $27 590.

This job category include all positions in the food processing industry that are not more precisely outlined elsewhere. The hourly pay that falls in the middle for these employees comes in at $12.44.


Writers and Runners for the Gaming and Sports Betting Industry

The mean yearly pay is $27,640.

People that publish information at sportsbooks and assist operate games like bingo and keno are referred to as writers and runners, respectively. It goes without saying that with weekly profits of just $530, the vast majority of them probably won't have enough money left over to put too many bets on their own.


Cutters and trimmers for various types of meat, poultry, and fish

The mean yearly pay is $27 790.

Any job that requires handling raw chicken and blades of various sharpnesses seems like it ought to pay far more than what is being offered here. The hourly compensation for meat trimmers is often lower than $13 per hour on average.


Workers in Personal Care and Service, All Others in the Industry

The mean yearly pay is $28,270.

There are slightly under 60,000 people who work in the service industry but aren't expressly classified as any other profession, despite the fact that this overarching category includes a vast number of other occupations.


Institutional Cooks and Cafeteria Workers

The mean yearly pay is $28,290.

It's another position available in the hospitality and food service industries. Cooks who work in cafeterias or other institutions make somewhat more than their restaurant counterparts do in many cases, but they still only make $12.91 an hour on average.


People Who Work in Recreation

The mean yearly pay is $28,310.

The term "leisure workers" may seem like it should be an oxymoron, but in this context, it refers to the wide variety of people who have positions in recreation centers and other such establishments. They make events that are centered on arts and crafts more accessible to participants.


Retail Salespersons

The mean yearly pay is $28,310.

Although the salary for retail salespeople is higher than that of cashiers who are just responsible for handling transactions, these positions are still among the lowest-paying employment in the nation. The weekly equivalent of the $28,310 wage is only a hair under $550.


Slaughterers as well as those who pack the meat

The mean yearly pay is $28,450.

The process of meatpacking is laborious and messy. Nevertheless, considering the difficulty of the labor, the typical hourly compensation for these employees is just $13.59 per hour.


Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs

The mean yearly pay is $28,450.

This is one industry that is going through a period of time in which there is a significant amount of change. On the other hand, it is not a career that offers a very high financial return, since the typical salary is around $12.50 per hour. However, employees have the potential to earn additional income via tips.


Funeral Attendants

The mean yearly pay is $28,480.

Even before learning that the average hourly wage for this job is just $12.69, the job of funeral attendant already seems like it would be one of the most depressing professions to have.


Helping Hands for the Physical Therapist

The mean yearly pay is $28,500.

On this list of occupations with low compensation, the occupation that pays the most is that of aides to physical therapists, who make an annual average of $28,500. That works out to a salary check of just less than $1,100 every other week.

New Opportunities Lists

Cookies

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

Accept