How Much Does Chipotle Pay?

See the answer to "How much does Chipotle pay?"

Chipotle pays its employees competitive hourly wages and salaries for fast food casual restaurants. When you start, don’t expect to make a high hourly wage and instead, focus on how quickly you can rise through the company and get promoted.

These types of restaurants are always looking for talented people who stand out as excellent workers so they can benefit the company in the long run. Always keep in mind that 80% of employees in this company who are now in management started out making very little money as a team member.

The following information will give you an overview of what to expect from Chipotle when it comes to hourly pay, salaries, and a few more points to consider. Here’s what you will see:

Chipotle Starting Pay

The Chipotle starting pay is low but there are many opportunities to quickly advance to a high-paying management position.
Chipotle’s starting pay is nothing spectacular but its opportunities for advancement are!

The starting pay for an entry-level team member averages around $9.15 an hour. However, the best way to determine an approximate amount in your area is to look at your state’s minimum wage and add approximately $.50 to $1.00 to it.

So, for example, in Arizona, where the state minimum pay is $12.15 an hour, you can add another $.75 to that and the starting pay becomes $12.90 an hour, on average. In states such as Alabama, where there is no state minimum wage and is exactly like the federal minimum at $7.25 an hour, simply add approximately $1.00 an hour to that. So, in Alabama, you would start at about $8.25 an hour.

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Chipotle Team Member Pay

The team member position is the most popular job at Chipotle and on average, you can earn approximately $11.27 an hour after putting in a couple of years of work. With that hourly wage, you can expect to make about $450 a week which translates into $1,953 monthly and a yearly salary of $23,441.

Some team members report working many overtime hours while others say they work extra hours here and then. Either way, you may be able to receive another $1,500 to $3,000 a year in overtime work.

Chipotle Bonus

Team members who have at least one year of full-time experience can earn a quarterly bonus throughout the year that’s equal to one month’s pay. These workers can potentially receive a bonus check every 3 months for helping their location meet certain sales and cash flow targets. 

The bonus amount you can potentially receive as a team member is in the $1,250 to $2,000 a year range. Managers can also potentially receive cash bonuses from approximately $1,200 to $5,000 throughout the year.

Cashier Pay

The average hourly pay for a cashier at Chipotle is $10.55 an hour. This comes out to about $422 a week and a salary of $21,944 a year.

As a cashier, you will no doubt be offered to cover for someone else’s shift from time to time and if you take advantage of the opportunities, you can earn another $1,200 to $2,500 a year.

Prep Cook Pay

A prep cook at Chipotle makes about $11.83 an hour. This is great to see because anyone working in the kitchen area is generally working slightly harder than team members who are in the front of the house.

Therefore, a prep cook makes approximately $473 a week and a yearly salary of $24,606. This job exposes you to all the duties of a Chipotle cook, and the transition from prep cook to a cook position becomes much easier if you apply yourself and learn something new every day.

Cook Pay

A Chipotle cook makes approximately $12.08 an hour. This amounts to $483 a week and $25,126 a year. 

If you have this job, it can give you an advantage in moving up the ladder of success to a management career because you will know all there is to know about how Chipotle cooks its menu items. 

Chipotle Manager Salaries

At Chipotle, team members can move up in rank much quicker than most companies. It is not uncommon for a team member, for example, to get promoted to a kitchen manager and end up as a service manager within one to two years. Sometimes, movement up the ladder can even be quicker!

Chipotle Kitchen Manager Salary

The kitchen manager at Chipotle is not considered a salaried employee but it is an introduction to gaining supervisory experience. The average hourly pay for this position is $13.67 an hour.

This equals $546 a week and a yearly salary of $28,433. This is the first position at Chipotle that comes close to giving workers a living wage. 

It’s important to know that high-performing team members can reach this position within 3 to 12 months of exceptional service.

Chipotle Service Manager Salary

The next step and promotion is the service manager position, and this job will pay you $14.62 an hour. This means you’ll earn about $584 a week and $30,409 in your yearly salary.

Many service managers soon get promoted to the assistant manager position which pays more than twice the salary.

Chipotle Assistant Manager Salary

An assistant manager at this fast-food casual restaurant chain earns approximately $63,940 a year. This position does not come without its headaches.

You can expect to work long hours and you’ll probably have to sacrifice a portion of your work/life balance to meet your responsibilities. However, the sacrifice will be worth it as you continue moving up the ladder of success.

Chipotle Manager Salary

A Chipotle manager makes approximately $74,625 a year. This is an above-average salary for the fast-food casual dining industry.

Chipotle Restaurateur Salary

When you get to this position, you have a very high level of responsibility as you watch over at least 10 Chipotle locations. For your efforts, you get paid an average of $94,500 a year.

Chipotle is full of success stories where team members have risen through the ranks to become a restaurateur within the first 3 to 5 years. 

Chipotle Field Leader Salary

Field leaders at Chipotle earn approximately $104,000 a year. This position will place you as the supervisor of all managers at every location within your assigned district.

As the title implies, you will be the leader responsible for all of your stores’ successes, and there will be quite a bit of travel involved daily.

Do Chipotle workers get paid weekly?

Chipotle pays its workers biweekly and the pay period begins on a Monday and ends on the second Saturday after that. So, for example, if your first day of work is on the second Tuesday of the pay period and you work from Tuesday through Saturday, you would get paid for five days of work on the following Friday after the pay period ends on the previous Saturday.

How often does Chipotle give raises?

Chipotle employees get evaluated every six months. After this performance evaluation, employees qualify for a raise anywhere between 2% to 5%. 

Here’s an example, an employee who starts at $10 an hour and gets a 3% raise will end up at $10.30 an hour.

Chipotle Work Hours

The work hours offered for full-time and part-time employees differ at every location. However, it’s safe to say that if you prove yourself and work hard for this company, you will be rewarded with many hours of work every week.

Full-time Hours

In a business where it’s common for managers to schedule full-time employees less than 40 hours a week, Chipotle schedules full-time workers at least 40 hours a week at many locations. Sometimes, these same workers end up working up to 48 hours every week and more. 

Part-time Hours

Part-time workers at Chipotle are usually scheduled for 20 to 30 hours of work every week. In some locations, there is high employee turnover and this causes management to schedule part-time workers up to 40 hours every week. 

If you are unhappy with the number of hours you are getting scheduled weekly, make sure you communicate your availability to work extra hours to your management staff. Whatever you do, don’t begin complaining.

Take a positive approach by working hard, being dependable, and making it known that you are ready to work.

What are the shifts at Chipotle?

Here are some examples of shifts you may be assigned to work at Chipotle:

  • 6 AM to 10 AM
  • 6 AM to 2 PM
  • 9 AM to 2 PM
  • 9 AM to 5 PM
  • 10 AM to 2 PM
  • 10 AM to 6:30 PM
  • 11 AM to 7 PM
  • 3 PM to 11 PM
  • 3 PM to 12 PM

Employee Call Out Sick Policy

All employees are entitled to 24 hours of sick leave once they are hired. Chipotle takes food safety and the health of employees and customers very seriously.

If you are going to be out sick, you are supposed to call your immediate supervisor with plenty of advance notice so your position can be filled. In cases where you can find a coworker who can fill in for you, this is generally appreciated by your management.

Break Policy

The Chipotle break policy involves having to take one 30-minute unpaid meal break for every 5-hour shift as well as two 30-minute unpaid meal breaks if you work a 10-hour shift on any day.

For every 3 1/2 hours of work, managers will also grant you a 10-minute paid break. Be aware that different locations and managers handle their employee breaks differently according to the needs of their restaurant.

Chipotle Dress Code

Chipotle’s employee dress code consists of company-issued t-shirts and a hat. If you’re hired full-time, you are usually issued two t-shirts. 

You’re also expected to wear your dark jeans, and they must not contain any rips or tears. Additionally, you have to purchase slip-resistant shoes. 

The only pieces of jewelry you’re allowed to wear are earrings and a wedding band. Fake nails are a no-no. If you have long hair, it must be placed up in a bun.

As far as tattoos, these are OK unless they are offensive or inappropriate. You are also allowed to wear colored hair.

Bear in mind that all locations have minor differences set forth by their management teams. If you are unsure of how to show up on your first day of work, make sure you consult with your supervisor.

Featured image courtesy of Mikebay1968 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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