Bakers
Also called: Bakery Worker, Bread Baker, Cake Baker, Cake Decorator, Donut Maker, Dough Maker, Dough Mixer, French Pastry Cook
Mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods.
What bakers do
Typical tasks
- Measure or weigh flour or other ingredients to prepare batters, doughs, fillings, or icings, using scales or graduated containers.
- Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.
- Check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods.
- Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
- Adapt the quantity of ingredients to match the amount of items to be baked.
- Place dough in pans, molds, or on sheets, and bake in production ovens or on grills.
- Observe color of products being baked, and adjust oven temperatures, humidity, or conveyor speeds accordingly.
- Set time and speed controls for mixing machines, blending machines, or steam kettles so that ingredients will be mixed or cooked according to instructions.
- Combine measured ingredients in bowls of mixing, blending, or cooking machinery.
- Check the quality of raw materials to ensure that standards and specifications are met.
- Roll, knead, cut, or shape dough to form sweet rolls, pie crusts, tarts, cookies, or other products.
- Decorate baked goods, such as cakes or pastries.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Bakers salary
The median annual wage for bakers is $37,160 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $28,120 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $49,020. The mean annual wage is $38,480.
The mean hourly wage of $18.00 is 2.5× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Bakers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $37,160 → in 3 years $40,800 → in 5 years $43,400 → in 10 years $50,700 (10-year range $43,600–$58,900). The model assumes pay growth of +3.2% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Bakers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Bakers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Bakers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Bakers United States | 和菓子製造、和菓子職人 Japan | 洋菓子製造、パティシエ Japan | パン製造、パン職人 Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $37,160 | ¥3.97M ≈ $25,230 | ¥3.97M ≈ $25,230 | ¥3.97M ≈ $25,230 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $50,700 | ¥5.19M | ¥4.95M | ¥5.08M |
| Outlook score | 55 | 51 | 42 | 45 |
| AI replacement risk | 38% Low | 24% Low | 60% Moderate | 51% Moderate |
| Workers | 236K | 1.2M | — | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Bakers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become bakers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as bakers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.