Salary by Metro

SOC 35-2014 · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

Cooks, Restaurant wages by metro

National median annual wage

$37,390

10th percentile
$28,700
25th percentile
$34,010
Median
$37,390
75th percentile
$44,620
90th percentile
$47,900
Mean
$38,730

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

National employment in May 2025: 1,409,890.

That median is 26.7% 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.

Paramedics seated in an ambulance
Paramedics in an ambulance. Photograph by Jim Legans, Jr.. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Highest published medians

Metros with the highest published annual medians for Cooks, Restaurant.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
Kahului-Wailuku, HI1,770$38,470$49,560$74,350
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA20,850$38,360$47,730$58,660
Napa, CA1,270$38,570$47,320$58,130
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA8,900$37,100$47,170$63,940
Barnstable Town, MA1,760$37,010$46,930$59,840
Portland-South Portland, ME2,730$38,570$46,560$54,830
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA1,090$37,550$46,460$56,600
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA590$37,280$46,450$56,800
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA15,670$37,840$46,440$51,820
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA20,540$40,720$46,030$58,940
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH22,900$36,810$45,830$58,690
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA2,340$38,220$45,720$55,830
Burlington-South Burlington, VT950$31,020$45,390$58,820
Bellingham, WA1,090$36,800$45,370$56,700
Kennewick-Richland, WA1,150$36,690$45,280$55,910
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA13,020$37,510$45,200$61,430
Longview-Kelso, WA310$34,890$44,980$53,310
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA1,090$36,210$44,960$54,780
Salinas, CA1,910$37,150$44,930$57,980
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA540$35,720$44,680$56,370

Where employment is largest

Metros with the most Cooks, Restaurant jobs in the May 2025 tables.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ69,250$33,040$43,740$54,240
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA54,320$37,230$44,460$55,010
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN41,690$32,150$38,930$46,620
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL37,210$29,090$36,920$47,160
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX34,430$28,020$36,490$45,280
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX32,710$24,600$35,050$38,370
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV29,670$35,310$42,920$49,650
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA29,040$27,370$37,230$43,690
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD24,220$29,750$38,270$47,010
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH22,900$36,810$45,830$58,690
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV22,530$30,390$38,800$58,520
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ21,780$34,940$39,170$46,500
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA20,850$38,360$47,730$58,660
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA20,540$40,720$46,030$58,940
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL19,960$30,700$37,970$47,570
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL18,640$28,700$37,010$44,670
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI17,760$35,310$39,640$48,160
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI16,490$29,620$37,410$46,960
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA15,670$37,840$46,440$51,820
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO15,410$36,340$44,370$49,880

States and territories

State estimates for Cooks, Restaurant, May 2025.
OccupationEmployment10thMedian90th
Washington35,140$37,940$46,800$57,910
District of Columbia7,720$36,440$46,130$53,020
Massachusetts29,570$36,540$45,600$58,590
Hawaii11,090$35,740$45,420$65,320
Vermont2,360$31,210$45,390$56,180
Maine5,130$38,040$45,290$49,530
California152,250$37,100$44,880$55,580
New York71,530$34,490$43,680$54,240
Oregon21,550$36,080$43,100$58,280
Colorado30,600$34,590$41,600$49,650
New Hampshire7,190$34,390$40,200$49,400
Alaska2,350$36,230$40,140$46,800
Connecticut14,830$35,460$39,480$49,420
Arizona30,870$33,250$38,670$46,240
Nevada27,250$30,300$38,610$56,540
Minnesota26,080$31,280$38,590$47,850
New Jersey28,800$32,220$38,460$50,010
Montana7,580$29,380$38,060$47,670
Delaware5,280$31,250$37,840$46,940
Maryland17,690$35,030$37,820$47,840
Illinois53,540$31,200$37,580$46,460
Virgin Islands410$31,770$37,430$46,990
Nebraska4,750$28,680$37,030$44,880
Florida124,040$29,710$37,020$46,450
Michigan39,100$29,570$36,980$46,030
Missouri25,990$28,890$36,940$46,970
Wyoming2,710$27,850$36,830$52,530
Virginia40,310$29,340$36,750$45,740
Pennsylvania54,100$22,650$36,580$45,120
Wisconsin25,410$28,010$36,550$46,270
Rhode Island6,950$31,840$36,510$49,450
Utah10,520$28,800$36,490$46,580
North Dakota4,490$28,850$36,470$45,650
Idaho8,130$25,470$36,440$47,020
Tennessee28,220$27,910$36,420$45,650
South Dakota1,890$30,140$36,220$44,990
Georgia46,350$24,160$35,940$43,210
South Carolina25,890$26,200$35,740$45,680
Iowa12,270$28,690$35,670$44,460
Ohio46,910$27,590$35,540$44,940
North Carolina50,150$27,980$35,400$45,450
Indiana26,960$26,000$35,170$44,190
Kansas11,620$26,120$35,130$44,540
New Mexico7,810$28,100$35,020$43,400
Texas126,620$23,330$34,760$42,810
Kentucky13,510$24,750$34,640$43,750
Alabama16,260$24,170$32,180$39,220
Oklahoma17,050$22,850$31,720$44,170
Arkansas11,270$26,020$30,180$37,140
West Virginia6,450$22,180$29,590$38,010
Mississippi10,770$22,010$29,560$36,880
Louisiana14,910$21,970$29,050$39,540
Puerto Rico9,810$21,840$24,650$29,640
Guam1,110$21,760$22,950$28,730

Other food preparation and serving related occupations

Questions this page answers

What is the national median wage for Cooks, Restaurant?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, the national median annual wage for Cooks, Restaurant is $37,390. Employment is 1,409,890.

How does Cooks, Restaurant pay compare with all occupations?

The national median for Cooks, Restaurant is 26.7% lower than the all-occupations median of $50,980.

Which metro has the highest published median for Cooks, Restaurant?

Among metros with a published annual median in the May 2025 tables, Kahului-Wailuku, HI is highest on this page's list at $49,560.