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PEOPLE

COFFEE PROFESSIONS

Coffee is bigger than baristas. From green buyers and Q graders to roastery production managers and café owners — here's how the trade fans out, and what people are paid.

PROFESSIONS IN THE CHAIN

US median salaries shown — others scale similarly relative to local cost of living.

  • Barista (35-3023)

    +4%/10y

    $30,000 / yr

    Front-of-house café professional. ~280k employed across the US.

    SOURCE ↗

  • Roaster (Food Batchmaker, 51-3092)

    +1%/10y

    $38,600 / yr

    Operates a drum or fluid-bed roaster; designs and reproduces roast curves.

    SOURCE ↗

  • Q Grader / Cupper

    +6%/10y

    $55,000 / yr

    CQI-licensed sensory professional grading green coffee on the SCA 100-point scale.

    SOURCE ↗

  • Green Buyer / Importer

    +5%/10y

    $72,000 / yr

    Sources lots from producers, negotiates contracts, manages quality across origins.

    SOURCE ↗

  • Café Manager

    +7%/10y

    $47,000 / yr

    Runs day-to-day operations: scheduling, training, P&L, supplier relationships.

    SOURCE ↗

  • Roastery Production Manager

    +5%/10y

    $62,000 / yr

    Plans roast batches, manages packaging, fulfillment, and wholesale logistics.

    SOURCE ↗

  • Coffee Educator / AST

    +8%/10y

    $58,000 / yr

    SCA-Authorized Specialty Trainer teaching brewing, sensory, and barista skills.

    SOURCE ↗

  • Producer / Farmer (varies)

    +0%/10y

    $9,000 / yr

    Global average smallholder income is dramatically lower than consumer-country wages — the fundamental price problem.

    SOURCE ↗

BARISTA WAGES BY US STATE

BLS OEWS May 2023 · occupation 35-3023

  1. Washington
    $39,790
  2. California
    $38,670
  3. Hawaii
    $38,000
  4. Massachusetts
    $37,880
  5. Vermont
    $37,230
  6. New York
    $37,010
  7. Alaska
    $36,300
  8. Oregon
    $36,110
  9. Colorado
    $35,630
  10. New Jersey
    $35,230
  11. Connecticut
    $35,050
  12. Minnesota
    $34,150
  13. Illinois
    $33,720
  14. Maryland
    $33,370
  15. Virginia
    $32,940
  16. Arizona
    $32,260
  17. Pennsylvania
    $31,640
  18. Michigan
    $31,090
  19. Nevada
    $31,030
  20. Florida
    $30,400
  21. Wisconsin
    $30,260
  22. Ohio
    $29,560
  23. Georgia
    $29,080
  24. North Carolina
    $28,930
  25. Texas
    $28,580
  26. Tennessee
    $27,890
  27. Indiana
    $27,700
  28. South Carolina
    $27,470
  29. Missouri
    $27,130
  30. Alabama
    $25,890
  31. Kentucky
    $25,610
  32. Louisiana
    $25,300
  33. Mississippi
    $24,420

UPDATED 2024-04 (BLS RELEASE) · SOURCE: BLS OEWS 35-3023

THE FAR END OF THE CHAIN

A US barista's median wage is ~$30,000/year. A smallholder coffee farmer's net income, globally averaged, is closer to $9,000 — and often a fraction of that. Every cup is a wage transfer across that gap. The Resources section links to ICO and WCR data on producer economics if you want to dig in.