Full-Service Restaurants have a significant impact on Idaho’s economy. In 2025, the National Restaurant Association estimated that Idaho’s Full-Service Restaurants provided $2.76 billion in direct economic output and employs more than 28,500 people. This is 3% of Idaho’s overall employment.1
Full-Service Restaurants are restaurants with a waitstaff and offer a dining experience with table service, compared with Limited-Service Restaurants which customers generally take the food to go and there is no table service, such as a fast-food restaurant.
Full-Service Restaurant in Idaho experienced disproportionate employment drops during the pandemic compared with total employment. This was due to people not going out as much to eat. While the state’s overall total employment declined 10.2% from 2019 to 2020 due to the pandemic, Full-Service Restaurant employment declined by a larger 14.3%. Since then, the industry in Idaho stagnated from 2023-2024 (shown in Figure 1) and has not returned to the level it was before the pandemic.
Many factors could contribute to this stagnation, from the industry’s high quit rate to a booming labor market increasing competition for employees, or an employment normalization from a surge in post-pandemic demand.
Figure 1: Full-Service Restaurant employment in Idaho, 2014-2024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wage by Industry, 2014-2024.
Industry growth
Overall, Idaho has experienced a higher growth rate of Full-Service Restaurant establishments compared with the nation from 2014-2024 (25.3% statewide vs. 13.5% nationally) due to the state’s elevated population growth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Idaho’s population has grown 22.6% from 2014-2024, compared with 6.4% nationally.
Idaho’s population growth is continuing to outpace national population growth. As Idaho’s population continues to expand and the number of full-service restaurants grow to accommodate the increasing population, hiring and retaining employees is a critical factor for success in the restaurant industry.
Figure 2: Full-Service Restaurant establishment growth in U.S. vs. Idaho, 2014-2024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wage by industry, 2014-2024
Wages
While Full-Service Restaurant hourly wages are substantially lower than Idaho’s overall average wage, the industry experienced faster growth rates over the last decade. Full-Service Restaurant wage growth grew 68% from 2014-2024 and outpaced the 57% average wage growth for all Idaho industries over the same time period.
Additionally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey estimates, 37% of service occupations were part-time employed on the national level in 2024. Service occupations had the highest share of part-time employment of any major occupational groups, which brings down service-sector average wages. Figure 3 (shown below) highlights the average annual wage differential in Idaho for employees within the Full-Service Restaurant industry compared with all industries in total.
Figure 3: Idaho’s Full-Service Restaurant average wage vs. Idaho’s overall average wage, 2014-2024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wage by Industry, 2014-2024.
Seth.Harrington@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
208-696-2364
Citations
- ”Economic Contributions of the Restaurant & Foodservice Industry,” National Restaurant Association, accessed January 2026, id_econ_impact_study_fs-3.pdf.
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY26 as part of a Workforce Information grant (41%) and state/nonfederal funds (59%) totaling $860,595.
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