Salary by Metro

SOC 35-2011 · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

Cooks, Fast Food wages by metro

National median annual wage

$30,890

10th percentile
$22,580
25th percentile
$27,260
Median
$30,890
75th percentile
$37,260
90th percentile
$42,910
Mean
$32,390

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

National employment in May 2025: 641,070.

That median is 39.4% lower than the all-occupations national median of $50,980.

The metro and state figures below are the same May 2025 release. A blank wage means BLS did not publish it. See when a wage is not published.

Portrait of a woman police officer in uniform
A police officer during a United Nations visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 2012. Photograph by Myriam Asmani, MONUSCO. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Highest published medians

Metros with the highest published annual medians for Cooks, Fast Food.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA4,790$38,210$47,220$50,850
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA10,160$38,350$46,670$54,820
Napa, CA370$37,420$45,300$46,560
Vallejo, CA1,150$36,950$44,450$55,520
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA5,190$35,330$44,030$48,140
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA1,050$37,340$43,840$47,720
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA710$36,930$43,630$44,590
Salinas, CA1,100$35,130$43,120$47,010
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA1,430$36,680$42,700$44,290
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA2,520$35,980$42,530$46,640
Modesto, CA1,620$36,120$42,510$46,940
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA16,910$34,800$42,480$44,080
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA10,630$36,110$42,450$47,230
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA850$34,930$42,390$43,700
Yuba City, CA390$35,680$42,320$48,450
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA8,020$34,320$42,210$44,270
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHNot available$36,400$41,600$48,850
Stockton-Lodi, CA2,260$35,380$41,600$43,330
Bakersfield-Delano, CA2,450$35,030$41,480$47,190
Hanford-Corcoran, CA450$34,320$41,280$43,690

Where employment is largest

Metros with the most Cooks, Fast Food jobs in the May 2025 tables.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA48,440$35,760$38,000$45,550
St. Louis, MO-IL17,700$29,510$30,860$36,450
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA16,910$34,800$42,480$44,080
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC15,830$22,430$27,690$35,720
Kansas City, MO-KS13,850$29,180$30,170$34,800
Raleigh-Cary, NC11,500$22,590$28,220$34,220
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA10,630$36,110$42,450$47,230
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV10,580$31,200$35,800$47,000
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN10,460$31,200$35,360$41,480
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ10,410$32,220$35,780$39,330
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA10,160$38,350$46,670$54,820
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA8,020$34,320$42,210$44,270
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX7,950$21,530$23,090$38,210
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ7,900$30,960$33,190$36,690
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL7,110$28,210$30,990$45,370
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA7,100$20,800$26,940$36,850
Greensboro-High Point, NC6,850$22,190$27,880$33,800
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX6,490$23,350$30,010$43,400
Birmingham, AL6,120$23,800$28,320$34,650
Winston-Salem, NC6,120$22,030$27,280$34,880

States and territories

State estimates for Cooks, Fast Food, May 2025.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
HawaiiNot available$29,120$48,120$53,580
District of Columbia2,760$36,480$44,670$51,260
California124,440$35,750$42,050$48,750
Washington9,020$35,330$39,120$44,860
New Hampshire1,330$35,720$38,590$45,930
Vermont640$31,540$38,230$39,650
Oregon4,300$31,610$37,880$49,240
MassachusettsNot available$35,590$37,870$48,140
Colorado9,220$31,970$36,900$46,610
Maine1,470$31,350$36,350$44,280
New York11,710$32,770$35,770$40,250
Rhode Island1,210$31,200$35,230$38,470
Connecticut3,630$34,010$34,980$42,640
Illinois13,430$31,200$34,960$40,580
Minnesota5,190$24,550$34,120$39,560
Alaska2,250$30,160$33,960$37,760
Nevada5,890$26,530$33,840$43,440
Maryland10,960$31,200$33,320$38,210
Arizona11,210$30,580$32,660$36,440
New Jersey3,440$32,220$32,220$41,860
Delaware850$31,200$31,840$48,870
Utah4,400$27,760$31,800$47,200
Idaho1,610$18,620$31,070$35,860
South Dakota1,720$25,410$30,950$34,910
Nebraska2,900$28,080$30,430$36,910
North Dakota580$23,060$30,220$38,480
New Mexico1,800$27,860$30,190$37,550
Virginia12,520$27,400$29,950$37,730
Florida22,600$27,460$29,900$41,400
Missouri55,780$28,600$29,890$35,290
Indiana6,830$24,050$29,870$37,310
Michigan14,340$25,960$29,460$37,240
Wyoming890$21,240$28,950$42,520
Wisconsin6,900$22,550$28,920$34,920
Pennsylvania9,240$22,610$28,810$42,380
Kansas1,610$22,480$28,640$38,680
Iowa8,290$15,080$28,510$40,810
Tennessee14,020$20,380$28,330$38,330
Texas36,240$20,800$28,280$39,140
Alabama26,740$22,640$27,870$34,170
Oklahoma8,860$22,340$27,720$36,900
Arkansas7,860$23,770$27,710$32,720
South Carolina9,110$21,690$27,420$37,140
North Carolina81,980$21,890$27,190$34,860
Georgia12,940$20,800$26,940$36,810
Ohio12,310$22,500$26,870$35,570
Montana820$22,090$26,770$47,100
Louisiana3,000$20,890$24,960$29,640
Kentucky21,750$21,220$23,500$30,000
West Virginia16,490$21,600$23,120$28,300
Mississippi11,170$18,540$22,670$28,790
Puerto Rico3,810$21,840$22,640$29,000
Guam650$21,120$21,690$22,820

Other food preparation and serving related occupations

Questions this page answers

What is the national median wage for Cooks, Fast Food?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, the national median annual wage for Cooks, Fast Food is $30,890. Employment is 641,070.

How does Cooks, Fast Food pay compare with all occupations?

The national median for Cooks, Fast Food is 39.4% lower than the all-occupations median of $50,980.

Which metro has the highest published median for Cooks, Fast Food?

Among metros with a published annual median in the May 2025 tables, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is highest on this page's list at $47,220.