Cooking equipment statistics show a market that spans household manufacturing, commercial kitchen efficiency, and residential fire safety. U.S. household cooking-appliance manufacturing shipments were valued at $4.3 billion in 2012, while ENERGY STAR partners shipped 46,000 commercial ovens in 2023. At the same time, U.S. residential building cooking fires totaled 167,800 in 2023. These figures come from different years and measures, so they should be read as separate indicators rather than one combined market total.
Table of contents
- Household manufacturing output
- Electric, gas, and other equipment shipments
- Commercial ENERGY STAR shipments
- Commercial market penetration
- Residential cooking fire incidence
- Equipment and ignition patterns
Household manufacturing output
The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Economic Census provides a manufacturing snapshot for household cooking appliances. Establishments reported $4.3 billion in value of shipments in 2012. That was 10.8% below the $4.9 billion reported in 2007, making the five-year comparison a useful measure of change in reported domestic manufacturing output. The figures describe the value of shipments from household-appliance manufacturing establishments, not every cooking-related purchase made by consumers.
Employment also declined across the same period. Household cooking-appliance manufacturing employed 10,324 people in 2012, compared with 15,638 in 2007. The Census Bureau reported this as a 34.0% fall in employment. The employment measure and shipment-value measure therefore point in the same downward direction for the 2007–2012 comparison, although neither one describes later years.
Average payroll moved differently. Average payroll per employee was $37,143 in 2012, up 23.0% from $30,199 in 2007. This is an average payroll measure, not an average wage for a particular occupation. It should not be interpreted as evidence that every worker or every manufacturer experienced the same increase.
The average establishment had 109 employees in 2012. That was down from an average of 136 employees in 2007, a decline of 20.1%. Together, the establishment-size and employment figures indicate that the average household cooking-appliance manufacturing establishment was smaller by this measure in 2012 than in 2007.
Source: Census Bureau’s 2012 Economic Census Shows U.S. Household Appliance Manufacturing is Down from 2007.
Electric, gas, and other equipment shipments
The Census Bureau’s major-appliance shipment series separates electric household ranges, ovens, surface-cooking units, equipment and parts from gas equipment and an “other” category. The series covers 2000 through 2009, so it is historical and should not be used as a current estimate.
| Equipment category | 2000 shipments | 2005 shipments | 2007 shipments | 2009 shipments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | $2.170 billion | $2.577 billion | $2.736 billion | $2.062 billion |
| Gas | $779 million | $1.392 billion | $1.541 billion | $1.126 billion |
| Other and outdoor cooking | $1.251 billion | $965 million | $491 million | $485 million |
Electric equipment shipments were $2.170 billion in 2000, $2.577 billion in 2005, $2.541 billion in 2006, $2.736 billion in 2007, $2.506 billion in 2008, and $2.062 billion in 2009. The series therefore records its listed high point in 2007 and a lower value by 2009.
Gas equipment shipments were $779 million in 2000, $1.392 billion in 2005, $1.363 billion in 2006, $1.541 billion in 2007, $1.473 billion in 2008, and $1.126 billion in 2009. Gas shipments were lower in 2009 than in 2007 within this historical series.
The “other” category, which includes other household ranges, cooking equipment, and outdoor cooking equipment, had $1.251 billion in shipments in 2000. It recorded $965 million in 2005, $784 million in 2006, $491 million in 2007, $510 million in 2008, and $485 million in 2009. Because the category combines several equipment types, its values should not be treated as a single product segment.
Source: Table 1041. Major Household Appliances—Value of Shipments: 2000 to 2009.
Commercial ENERGY STAR shipments
ENERGY STAR’s 2023 Unit Shipment Data Summary Report gives a more recent view of selected commercial cooking equipment in the United States. ENERGY STAR partners shipped 46,000 commercial ovens in 2023. The same report records 36,000 commercial fryers, 11,000 commercial coffee brewers, 9,000 commercial steam cookers, 8,000 commercial hot-food holding cabinets, and 5,000 commercial griddles.
These are unit shipments for ENERGY STAR products, not total shipments of all commercial equipment. The categories also serve different functions: ovens, fryers, griddles, steam cookers, holding cabinets, and coffee brewers should not be combined as interchangeable equipment. The numbers are most useful for comparing the scale of the listed ENERGY STAR categories in the same measurement year.
Among the six listed categories, commercial ovens had the highest reported ENERGY STAR shipment count at 46,000 units. Commercial fryers followed at 36,000. Coffee brewers, steam cookers, hot-food holding cabinets, and griddles were reported at 11,000, 9,000, 8,000, and 5,000 units, respectively.
Source: 2023 Unit Shipment Data Summary Report.
Commercial market penetration
The same ENERGY STAR report gives estimated U.S. market penetration for the listed commercial equipment categories in 2023. Commercial steam cookers had an estimated 65% market penetration, the highest of the six categories. Commercial ovens had an estimated 53% penetration, while commercial fryers had an estimated 32%.
The remaining categories had lower estimated penetration: commercial griddles were at 21%, commercial hot-food holding cabinets at 15%, and commercial coffee brewers at 7%. These are estimates for 2023, not counts of all equipment in service, and they should not be read as adoption rates for residential cooking products.
| Commercial category | ENERGY STAR shipments in 2023 | Estimated U.S. market penetration in 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Steam cookers | 9,000 | 65% |
| Ovens | 46,000 | 53% |
| Fryers | 36,000 | 32% |
| Griddles | 5,000 | 21% |
| Hot-food holding cabinets | 8,000 | 15% |
| Coffee brewers | 11,000 | 7% |
The contrast between shipments and penetration is important. Ovens had the largest listed shipment count, but steam cookers had the highest estimated penetration. Coffee brewers had more reported shipments than steam cookers, yet their estimated penetration was much lower. Shipment volume and market penetration therefore answer different questions: one concerns units shipped during the year, while the other estimates the product’s position within its relevant market.
Source: 2023 Unit Shipment Data Summary Report.
Residential cooking fire incidence
The U.S. Fire Administration reports annual U.S. residential building cooking fires from 2014 through 2023. The count was 189,800 in 2014 and 193,400 in 2015. It then reached 183,300 in 2016, 191,800 in 2017, and 192,700 in 2018.
The later years in the series were 178,100 fires in 2019, 192,600 in 2020, 170,000 in 2021, 178,600 in 2022, and 167,800 in 2023. The listed ten-year high was 193,400 in 2015, while the listed low was 167,800 in 2023. This is a count of residential building cooking fires, not a count of all cooking incidents or all fires involving any type of equipment.
| Year | Residential building cooking fires |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 189,800 |
| 2015 | 193,400 |
| 2016 | 183,300 |
| 2017 | 191,800 |
| 2018 | 192,700 |
| 2019 | 178,100 |
| 2020 | 192,600 |
| 2021 | 170,000 |
| 2022 | 178,600 |
| 2023 | 167,800 |
Source: Residential Building Fire Causes (2014–2023).
Equipment and ignition patterns
The U.S. Fire Administration’s analysis of nonconfined U.S. residential cooking fires in 2014–2016 identifies the equipment and circumstances most often associated with ignition. Ranges or kitchen stoves were involved in igniting 72.9% of these fires. Heating stoves accounted for 7.3%, ovens or rotisseries for 6.2%, microwave ovens for 4%, and grills or barbecues for 4%.
The location and first-ignited material figures add context. The cooking area or kitchen accounted for 94.2% of nonconfined U.S. residential cooking fires in 2014–2016. Oil, fat, and grease were the first-ignited material in 47% of these fires. Operational deficiency was a contributing ignition-factor category in 58.6%.
When a contributing factor was identified, unattended cooking equipment accounted for 40% of nonconfined U.S. residential cooking fires. This measure has a narrower condition than the overall fire count: it applies when a contributing factor was identified, and it concerns nonconfined fires in the 2014–2016 analysis period.
Taken together, the figures describe a concentrated risk pattern. Ranges or kitchen stoves were involved in the largest equipment share at 72.9%, kitchens were the location in 94.2% of cases, and oil, fat, or grease was the first-ignited material in 47%. The figures do not establish that every fire involved all three conditions, and they do not measure the performance of a particular brand or model.