The top 10 highest-paying jobs for teens in the U.S.—No. 1 isn't retail or food service

Cnbc · 🇺🇸 public United States · Jun 02, 2026 · 648 words · By Sophie Caldwell

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What to know about The top 10 highest-paying jobs for teens in the U.S.—No. 1 isn't retail or food service

Having a part-time job is a rite of passage for many American teenagers, especially in the summer months.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

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Center100%

Right0%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Having a part-time job is a rite of passage for many American teenagers, especially in the summer months.

Why it matters

A May 5 report from Resume Genius, an online career platform and resume builder, identified the highest-paying jobs for teenagers, based on data from the U.S.

Common ground

The top job on the list is car technician and mechanic, with a median hourly wage of almost $24.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: The top 10 highest-paying jobs for teens in the U.S.—No. 1 isn't retail or food service?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Babysitter: Median hourly wage: $23.08?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/02/the-top-10-highest-paying-jobs-for-teens-in-the-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “Babysitter: Median hourly wage: $23.08”

CORROBORATED

The median hourly wage of $23.08 for babysitters is confirmed by Resume Genius and ZipRecruiter.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An over-the-top media service (also known as OTT and over-the-top television) is a digital distribution service of video and accompanying audio delivered directly to viewers via the public Internet, r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_media_service

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 2: “childcare workers and babysitters often need first aid and CPR certifications”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “Food service supervisor: Median hourly wage: $20.20, Number of teens employed: 25,000”

CORROBORATED

The median hourly wage of $20.20 and the employment figure of 25,000 for food service supervisors are confirmed by CNBC, Resume Genius, and Instagram (reporting on the Resume Genius data).

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... 5. Food service supervisor. Median hourly wage: $20.20; Teens employed: ~25,000. Food service supervisors manage the flow of service in ...
https://resumegenius.com/blog/job-hunting/high-paying-jobs-f…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 6, 2026 ... Food service supervisor Median hourly wage: $20.20 Number of teens employed: 25,000 Source: Resume Genius. clearancebot's profile picture ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZP6l4DDEYY/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... Most teen workers view their roles as "jobs of convenience" to ... Food service supervisor. Median hourly wage: $20.20. Number of teens ...
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/02/the-top-10-highest-paying-jo…

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Claim 4: “Retail supervisor: Median hourly wage: $22.75, Number of teens employed: 37,000”

CORROBORATED

The median wage of $22.75 and the employment figure of 37,000 for retail supervisors are confirmed by IBTimes, Resume Genius, and KC101.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and minor islands. Bot…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 5: “Waiter and waitress: Median hourly wage: $16.23, Number of teens employed: 360,000”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 6: “Shelf stocker: Median hourly wage: $18.72, Number of teens employed: 188,000”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the specific wage or employment numbers for shelf stockers.

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Claim 7: “A May 5 report from Resume Genius, an online career platform and resume builder, identified the highest-paying jobs for teenagers, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (CNBC, Resume Genius, and other web results) confirm that Resume Genius released a report on May 5 identifying high-paying teen jobs based on BLS data.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — During his second term as President of the United States, Donald Trump has made numerous false or misleading claims.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — During his second term as President of the United States, Donald Trump enacted a series of steep tariffs affecting nearly all goods imported into the country. From January to April 2025, the overall a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariffs_in_the_second_Trump_ad…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In late August 2025, the United States began a naval buildup in the southern Caribbean with the stated goal of combating drug trafficking. US president Donald Trump directed the United States Armed Fo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_buildup…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Car technician and mechanic: Median hourly wage: $23.88, Number of teens employed: 44,000”

CORROBORATED

The specific figures ($23.88 wage and 44,000 employed) are confirmed by both Resume Genius and other web search results reporting on the list.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient (Haley Joel Osment) claims he can…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Sense

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 9: “Tutor: Median hourly wage: $19.27, Number of teens employed: 19,000”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the specific wage or employment numbers for tutors.

schedule

Claim 10: “Gardener: Median hourly wage: $18.31, Number of teens employed: 74,000”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “Coach and scout: Median hourly wage: $22.08, Number of teens employed: 60,000”

CORROBORATED

The median wage of $22.08 for coach and scout is confirmed by IBTimes and KC101. While the employment number (60,000) is not explicitly repeated in the snippets, the wage is corroborated across multiple sources.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the "m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median

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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 4, 2025 · Mean, median and mode calculator for statistics. Calculate mean, median, mode, range and average for any data set with this calculator. Free online statistics calculators.
https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/statistics/mean-m…

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web search NEUTRAL — Median If you place a set of numbers in order, the median number is the middle one. If there are two middle numbers, the median is the mean of those two numbers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z3t4g7h

info

Claim 12: “waiter and waitress are the most popular job among teens”

SINGLE SOURCE

Only the CNBC source explicitly states that waiter and waitress are the most popular jobs among teens. Other sources discuss job markets but do not confirm this specific ranking.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... While wages can vary, waiter and waitress are the most popular job among teens ... Most teen workers view their roles as "jobs of ...
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/02/the-top-10-highest-paying-jo…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... ... restaurant host and server jobs received a 10% boost. The ... Most Popular. Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates ...
https://fortune.com/2026/06/02/hundreds-of-teens-flooding-jo…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 15, 2026 ... Job opportunities can provide valuable experiences for teenagers. These roles not only enable them to cultivate essential skills, such as ...
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/best-jobs…

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Claim 13: “The top job on the list is car technician and mechanic, with a median hourly wage of almost $24.”

CORROBORATED

CNBC and Resume Genius both identify car technician and mechanic as the top job with a median hourly wage of almost $24 (specifically $23.88).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Debi Derryberry (née Greenberg; born September 27, 1960) is an American voice actress who has provided voices for a number of animations and video games. She is best known for voicing the titular prot…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debi_Derryberry

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Genius is an American biographical anthology drama series developed by Noah Pink and Kenneth Biller which premiered on National Geographic. The first season, which aired between April and June 2017, f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius_(American_TV_series)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Raising Genius (working title Bathroom Boy) is a 2004 American comedy film written by Linda Voorhees and co-directed by her with Bess Wiley. The film stars Justin Long, Wendie Malick, Ed Begley, Jr.,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_Genius

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 14: “Childcare worker: Median hourly wage: $15.41, Number of teens employed: 101,000”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.