Food Truck Income Explorer: see what a truck really makes by concept, market & event mix.
"How much do food trucks make?" has one honest answer: it depends on what you sell, where you park, and how you book your calendar. Build your own month below and this shows the revenue and take-home profit ranges you'd realistically see — every band pulled straight from documented 2026 food-truck data, not a dream figure.
Build your truck's month
Pick a concept and a market, then set how many of each kind of gig you'd work in a typical month. The tool multiplies your event counts by documented per-event revenue ranges and applies documented net-profit margins to estimate what you'd gross and keep — per month and per year. Nothing here is invented; every number traces to our published guides below.
Your setup
Concept and market set the context. Your event mix drives the dollars. Updates as you go.
Season & keep-rate
Trucks don't sell twelve full months. Set how many strong selling months you'll really work.
What this truck makes
Revenue and take-home ranges from your own event mix.
Where these numbers come from
The core math is yours: your concept, your market, and how many gigs you work. The tool multiplies your event counts by documented per-event revenue ranges and applies documented net-profit margins. Nothing here is invented — every band is quoted from our published food-truck guides:
Per-event revenue ranges (lunch route $400–$1,200/day, farmers market $500–$1,500, brewery/taproom $600–$2,000, private/corporate catering $1,500–$5,000, festival $2,000–$10,000+), the headline revenue picture (average truck ~$346,000/yr; established range $250,000–$500,000; first year 40–60% of the median; revenue $500–$2,000/day; average customer spend ~$12.76; smaller markets may top near $200,000), seasonality (winter revenue drops 30–50%; budget 8–9 strong months), owner take-home ($50,000–$90,000 median; top operators stacking lunch + catering + festivals report $100,000–$150,000+), and the cost structure (food 28–35%, labor 20–30%, fuel 5–8%, fees/permits 3–7%, insurance 2–3%, commissary 2–4%, card processing 2–3%, marketing 1–2%; net profit 15–30% well-run; catering events 25–45%): our How Much Do Food Trucks Make breakdown. Net-margin floor and food-cost bands by concept (the average truck nets 6–9% — two to three times a sit-down restaurant's 3–9%; coffee under 20% food cost, dessert/drinks 15–25%, pizza 20–25%, tacos ~27%, premium proteins 30–35%): our Most Profitable Food Trucks breakdown, which draws on Toast's food truck pricing guide.
How the market tier works: "Major metro / mid-size / small" only sets your starting defaults and season length, using our guides' own statements about market size — it never applies a hidden per-city dollar multiplier. Your event counts drive every figure. What this is not: an income promise. It's a planning range built on industry benchmarks, not your specific truck, and it isn't financial advice. First-year trucks run lighter; your city, menu, and discipline move every number. Spotted something off? Tell us.
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