Taste testers work primarily in food manufacturing industries, ensuring that foods look, smell and taste appealing. Taste testing jobs don't typically require education beyond a high school diploma. As such, the average pay for this skill, as of 2020, tends to be relatively low.

National Average Pay

The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies taste testers among inspectors, samplers, testers, weighers and sorters. As of May 2020, it reported an average annual salary of $40,460 for quality control testers and inspectors of all types. However, taste testers tend to earn less than others in that category. The BLS reports an average annual salary of $31,670 for testers and inspectors working in the food manufacturing industries. According to ZipRecruiter, taste testers earned an average of $24,000 per year as of July 2021.

Pay by Industry Sector

What goes in the tester's mouth can play a role in what goes on her paycheck. Those who specialized in fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty foods reported average salaries of $31,340 per year in 2013. Those dealing in seafood preparation averaged $32,160, while those employed by baked good and tortilla makers averaged $33,370. The best average money, $36,140, went to those dealing in sugar and confectionary products. Quality control workers in dairy products took home $36,260.

Pay by State

According to ZipRecruiter, taste testers earned some of the highest rates of pay in California and Alaska, averaging nearly $50,000 per year as of July 2021.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for taste testers and other quality control workers is mixed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs for this occupation were expected to grow at a rate of about 6 percent between 2020 and 2030, the average growth rate projected for the U.S. economy as a whole.