Cooks, Fast Food
Median $30,890
Occupation · SOC 35-2014
Cooks, Restaurant: pay and where the jobs are
What cooks, restaurant earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$37,390 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $38,730
- Median hourly wage
- $17.98
- Mean hourly wage
- $18.62
- Employment
- 1,409,890
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-2014.
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See where your pay falls among cooks, restaurant nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do cooks, restaurant make?
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant was $37,390 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $28,700 and the highest-paid 10% more than $47,900. As an hourly rate, the median is $17.98. About 1,409,890 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Washington ($46,800), District of Columbia ($46,130) and Massachusetts ($45,600). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Vermont.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for cooks, restaurant looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $28,700 | $13.80 | $2,392 | $2,103 |
| 25th percentile | $34,010 | $16.35 | $2,834 | $2,459 |
| Median | $37,390 | $17.98 | $3,116 | $2,685 |
| 75th percentile | $44,620 | $21.45 | $3,718 | $3,169 |
| 90th percentile | $47,900 | $23.03 | $3,992 | $3,389 |
Cooks, Restaurant: pay by state
54 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$38,347 take-home in national prices
2
$38,058 take-home in national prices
3
$36,570 take-home in national prices
Where a median cooks, restaurant paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 35,140 | $46,800 | $37,940 | $57,910 | $39,135 | $36,570 |
| District of Columbia | 7,720 | $46,130 | $36,440 | $53,020 | $37,644 | $34,252 |
| Massachusetts | 29,570 | $45,600 | $36,540 | $58,590 | $36,550 | $34,560 |
| Hawaii | 11,090 | $45,420 | $35,740 | $65,320 | $36,753 | $33,427 |
| Vermont | 2,360 | $45,390 | $31,210 | $56,180 | $37,564 | $38,347 |
| Maine | 5,130 | $45,290 | $38,040 | $49,530 | $36,935 | $38,058 |
| California | 152,250 | $44,880 | $37,100 | $55,580 | $36,880 | $33,309 |
| New York | 71,530 | $43,680 | $34,490 | $54,240 | $35,295 | $32,705 |
| Oregon | 21,550 | $43,100 | $36,080 | $58,280 | $33,879 | $32,778 |
| Colorado | 30,600 | $41,600 | $34,590 | $49,650 | $34,301 | $33,285 |
| New Hampshire | 7,190 | $40,200 | $34,390 | $49,400 | $34,481 | $33,102 |
| Alaska | 2,350 | $40,140 | $36,230 | $46,800 | $34,232 | $33,443 |
| Connecticut | 14,830 | $39,480 | $35,460 | $49,420 | $32,403 | $31,274 |
| Arizona | 30,870 | $38,670 | $33,250 | $46,240 | $32,678 | $32,459 |
| Nevada | 27,250 | $38,610 | $30,300 | $56,540 | $33,203 | $33,210 |
| Minnesota | 26,080 | $38,590 | $31,280 | $47,850 | $31,771 | $32,216 |
| New Jersey | 28,800 | $38,460 | $32,220 | $50,010 | $32,129 | $29,529 |
| Montana | 7,580 | $38,060 | $29,380 | $47,670 | $31,729 | $33,524 |
| Delaware | 5,280 | $37,840 | $31,250 | $46,940 | $31,010 | $31,069 |
| Maryland | 17,690 | $37,820 | $35,030 | $47,840 | $31,138 | $29,667 |
| Illinois | 53,540 | $37,580 | $31,200 | $46,460 | $30,660 | $30,673 |
| Virgin Islands | 410 | $37,430 | $31,770 | $46,990 | — | — |
| Nebraska | 4,750 | $37,030 | $28,680 | $44,880 | $31,128 | $34,547 |
| Florida | 124,040 | $37,020 | $29,710 | $46,450 | $31,926 | $30,872 |
| Michigan | 39,100 | $36,980 | $29,570 | $46,030 | $30,573 | $31,775 |
| Missouri | 25,990 | $36,940 | $28,890 | $46,970 | $31,062 | $34,203 |
| Wyoming | 2,710 | $36,830 | $27,850 | $52,530 | $31,773 | $34,278 |
| Virginia | 40,310 | $36,750 | $29,340 | $45,740 | $30,410 | $30,078 |
| Pennsylvania | 54,100 | $36,580 | $22,650 | $45,120 | $30,423 | $31,180 |
| Wisconsin | 25,410 | $36,550 | $28,010 | $46,270 | $30,634 | $32,556 |
| Rhode Island | 6,950 | $36,510 | $31,840 | $49,450 | $30,362 | $29,685 |
| Utah | 10,520 | $36,490 | $28,800 | $46,580 | $30,604 | $30,956 |
| North Dakota | 4,490 | $36,470 | $28,850 | $45,650 | $31,484 | $35,391 |
| Idaho | 8,130 | $36,440 | $25,470 | $47,020 | $30,637 | $32,082 |
| Tennessee | 28,220 | $36,420 | $27,910 | $45,650 | $31,443 | $34,226 |
| South Dakota | 1,890 | $36,220 | $30,140 | $44,990 | $31,283 | $35,313 |
| Georgia | 46,350 | $35,940 | $24,160 | $43,210 | $30,013 | $31,168 |
| South Carolina | 25,890 | $35,740 | $26,200 | $45,680 | $30,484 | $32,517 |
| Iowa | 12,270 | $35,670 | $28,690 | $44,460 | $30,137 | $34,340 |
| Ohio | 46,910 | $35,540 | $27,590 | $44,940 | $30,209 | $32,562 |
| North Carolina | 50,150 | $35,400 | $27,980 | $45,450 | $29,720 | $31,508 |
| Indiana | 26,960 | $35,170 | $26,000 | $44,190 | $29,431 | $31,535 |
| Kansas | 11,620 | $35,130 | $26,120 | $44,540 | $29,244 | $32,469 |
| New Mexico | 7,810 | $35,020 | $28,100 | $43,400 | $29,780 | $32,295 |
| Texas | 126,620 | $34,760 | $23,330 | $42,810 | $30,110 | $31,023 |
| Kentucky | 13,510 | $34,640 | $24,750 | $43,750 | $28,918 | $32,075 |
| Alabama | 16,260 | $32,180 | $24,170 | $39,220 | $26,760 | $30,128 |
| Oklahoma | 17,050 | $31,720 | $22,850 | $44,170 | $26,785 | $30,492 |
| Arkansas | 11,270 | $30,180 | $26,020 | $37,140 | $25,801 | $29,677 |
| West Virginia | 6,450 | $29,590 | $22,180 | $38,010 | $25,241 | $28,203 |
| Mississippi | 10,770 | $29,560 | $22,010 | $36,880 | $25,481 | $29,304 |
| Louisiana | 14,910 | $29,050 | $21,970 | $39,540 | $25,036 | $28,384 |
| Puerto Rico | 9,810 | $24,650 | $21,840 | $29,640 | — | — |
| Guam | 1,110 | $22,950 | $21,760 | $28,730 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-2014. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.