What is a good food cost percentage?
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Food cost
COGS = beginning inventory + purchases - ending inventory. Food cost % = COGS / food sales.
The association figures below mix food and nonalcoholic beverages. A kitchen-only percentage will not match them line for line.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Food cost | 12,040 |
| Food sales | 42,800 |
| Food cost % | 28.1% |
What people quote, and what was measured
The 2025 Restaurant Operations Data Abstract, covering 2024 and more than 900 restaurants, reports a limited-service median of 32.4 percent of sales for food and nonalcoholic beverages, and a full-service median of 32.0 percent. Those are food and nonalcoholic beverages together. They are not a food-only cost of goods, and the association says the figures are not standards or goals.
A week you can recompute
In the illustration, the kitchen started with 8,400, bought 11,200, and finished with 7,560. Cost of goods is 12,040. Against 42,800 of food sales, that is 28.1 percent. The week is invented so the arithmetic is visible. It is not a claim about a real restaurant, and it is not “better” than 32 percent, because the association’s 32 percent includes nonalcoholic beverages.
TODO: Split this page by pizza, full service, bars, and hotels once a sourced table exists for those formats. Do not fill the gap with a round number from a blog.
How to use your own percentage
Count on the same weekday each week. Keep food sales and beverage sales apart. When the percentage moves, look at the count and the invoices before you rewrite the menu. A missed count and a real waste problem produce the same spike.
FAQ
Short answers to the questions this page is built to settle.
Is 32 percent a good food cost?
32.0 and 32.4 percent are medians for food and nonalcoholic beverages in the association's 2024 data, not a passing grade. Your menu mix and your counts decide whether your own percentage is tolerable.
Should I use total sales?
Use food sales for a food cost percentage. Total sales include money that did not come from the food you counted.
Related
Tools and guides that use the same numbers.