Food services and drinking places, annual, 2024

Released: 2026-03-09

Food services and drinking places record moderate growth amid ongoing price pressures

Operating revenue for the food services and drinking places subsector rose 4.8% to $99.6 billion in 2024. This increase was consistent with higher food prices: the food purchased from restaurants component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew 3.6% in 2024. This was above the all-items CPI, which increased 2.4%. Sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 86.5% of total sales, while alcoholic beverages represented 11.0% and other sales made up the remaining 2.5%.

Operating expenses for the food services and drinking places subsector increased 4.3% year over year to $95.5 billion in 2024, resulting in a slightly higher operating profit margin of 4.1%, up from 3.6% in 2023. In 2024, the cost of goods sold remained the largest operating expense, accounting for 35.9% of total expenses. This was followed by salaries, wages, commissions and benefits (33.6%) and rental and leasing costs (8.1%).

Limited-service eating places overtake full-service restaurants in operating revenue

Operating revenue at limited-service eating places grew 7.7% to $44.9 billion in 2024, while operating revenue at full-service restaurants increased 1.4% to $44.2 billion.

This marks the first year, apart from 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when limited-service establishments generated higher operating revenue than their full-service counterparts. The relative performance of the two industry groups may reflect consumers shifting toward lower-cost, convenience-oriented dining options amid continued price pressures.

Special food services are up, while drinking places are down

Operating revenue for the special food services industry group—which includes food service contractors, caterers and mobile food services—was up 10.9% year over year to $7.8 billion in 2024. This subsector-leading growth was partly supported by increased return-to-office requirements across both the public and private sectors.

By contrast, operating revenue for drinking places edged down 2.6% to $2.7 billion in 2024. Apart from the temporary recovery that accompanied the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions (from 2021 to 2023), the industry has seen a gradual and steady decline for more than 10 years, partly due to shifting consumer preferences regarding alcohol consumption.

Outlook for 2025

This subsector is also covered by the Monthly Survey of Food Services and Drinking Places. According to the December 2025 monthly release, sales revenue was up 5.6% in 2025, compared with 2024. Detailed financial statistics for 2025 will be released following data collection in 2026.

Contact information

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