Quick answer: Food Service Managers in Florida earn a median $72,790 per year, above the national median of $69,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The state employs about 18,500 of them. Licensing runs through your local health department and state food safety authority.
| Metric | Florida | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $72,790 | $69,390 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 10th percentile | $45,800 | $45,960 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 25th percentile | $59,010 | $56,870 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 75th percentile | $91,480 | $86,800 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 90th percentile | $113,940 | $107,640 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Employment | 18,500 | 238,430 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Location quotient | 1.21 | 1.00 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Projected change (2024-34) | not published by state | 6.4% | BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34 |
The Florida median of $72,790 sits above the national median of $69,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Percentiles matter more than the midpoint when you are deciding whether a degree pays for itself: the 10th percentile is roughly where people start, and the 90th is what the top of the local market looks like after years of experience.
A location quotient of 1.21 puts Florida well above the national average, so the work is noticeably more common here than in the typical state. That usually means a deeper job market and more room to change employers without relocating (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The measure compares how concentrated the occupation is here against the national average of 1.00.
| Metro area | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Naples | $81,300 | 510 |
| Miami | $81,170 | 4,350 |
| Tampa | $80,180 | 2,670 |
| Crestview | $75,040 | 310 |
| Punta Gorda | $74,670 | 140 |
| Sebastian | $74,390 | 120 |
| North Port | $74,260 | 620 |
| Cape Coral | $73,560 | 530 |
| Jacksonville | $72,340 | 1,770 |
| Wildwood | $71,360 | 70 |
Figures: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Food service management tracks restaurant density, tourism and hospitality activity, so it is one of the most evenly distributed occupations on the site.
Cape Coral * Crestview * Deltona * Gainesville * Jacksonville * Lakeland * Miami * Naples * North Port * Ocala * Orlando * Palm Bay * Panama City * Pensacola * Port St. Lucie * Punta Gorda * Sebastian * Tallahassee * Tampa
No license is required to manage a restaurant. The regulatory piece is food safety: a food protection manager certification, commonly ServSafe from the National Restaurant Association, with the specific requirement set by local health departments rather than nationally. On the academic side ACPHA accredits hospitality administration programs, though employer recognition and demonstrated operating results carry more weight here than programmatic accreditation.
Requirements are set at state level and are amended periodically. Before you enroll in any program, confirm with your local health department and state food safety authority that the specific program you are considering satisfies the education requirement, and ask what it accepts from any training you have already completed. Get the answer in writing.
Most people reading this already have a job in the field, and the practical question is whether the credential can be earned without leaving it. Programs designed for working adults deliver the academic portion online or in the evening, while any labs, clinical hours or supervised field experience happen in person and locally. Prior college credit, military training, apprenticeship coursework and industry certifications can all shorten the path, so request a written transfer credit evaluation before you commit to any school.
Schools in our database near this area, ranked by BOC Score. The list favors schools with a related program on record, but program availability and delivery format change, so confirm directly with any school that it currently offers the program you want.
This page lists 10 schools within 186 miles, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 10 of them carry a score.
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
The median annual wage for food service managers in Florida is $72,790, above the national median of $69,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle of the range runs from $59,010 at the 25th percentile to $91,480 at the 75th.
Florida holds about 18,500 food service manager jobs (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Nationally the occupation employs 238,430, and BLS projects about 42,000 openings per year through 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
No license is required to manage a restaurant. The regulatory piece is food safety: a food protection manager certification, commonly ServSafe from the National Restaurant Association, with the specific requirement set by local health departments rather than nationally. On the academic side ACPHA accredits hospitality administration programs, though employer recognition and demonstrated operating results carry more weight here than programmatic accreditation. Requirements are set at the state level and change periodically, so confirm the current rules with your local health department and state food safety authority before you enroll in any program.
Often yes. Programs built for working adults deliver coursework online or in the evenings, though any required labs, clinical hours or supervised field experience are completed in person. Confirm that the program's accreditation satisfies your local health department and state food safety authority.
Among Florida metro areas with published data, Naples reports the highest median at $81,300 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
On pay, the state median of $72,790 sits above the national $69,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A location quotient of 1.21 means the occupation is more concentrated here than in the average state. Weigh that against cost of living and how concentrated the work is near where you actually want to live.
Wage and employment figures describe the occupation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not the graduates of any particular program, and individual outcomes may vary. Licensing rules change; confirm current requirements with the responsible state board before enrolling.
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
