America's Lowest-Paying Job Isn't in Fast Food

Food service industry still dominates the top 10, though

By Arden Dier, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 28, 2019 11:59 AM CDT

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10 Lowest-Paying Jobs in America — Workers prepare freshly laundered sheets to be pressed at Faultless Healthcare Linen in St. Louis, on Sept. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The website 24/7 Wall St has determined the lowest-paying jobs in America, and it finds that women dominate 18 of the top 25 occupations on the list. It turns out that those in the laundry and dry-cleaning business make the least of all US workers. The site compiled the list based on 2018 median annual earnings for full-time wage and salary workers, via the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10 lowest-paying jobs, and the money average employees pull make in a year:

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers: $22,464
Fast food workers (and other servers who prepare food): $22,672
Dishwashers: $22,932
Bussers: $23,244
Food preparation workers: $24,076
Cashiers: $24,180
Maids and housekeeping cleaners: $24,284
Hosts and hostesses: $24,492
Non-restaurant food servers: $25,168
Cooks: $25,272

See the full list of 25 here. (The US cities with the best job prospects are here.)