SOC 35-2014 · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations · May 2025

How much do Cooks, Restaurant make in Goldsboro, NC?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Goldsboro, NC is $32,420. The 10th percentile is $26,800 and the 90th percentile is $37,580. Employment is 420.

Median annual wage

$32,420

10th percentile
$26,800
25th percentile
$27,370
Median
$32,420
75th percentile
$35,000
90th percentile
$37,580
Mean
$32,070

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

A welder at work with a torch
A welder at a bench, 2014. Photograph by Chetan Menaria. Wikimedia Commons · CC0

Percentile spread

For Cooks, Restaurant, the published 10th percentile is $26,800 and the 90th percentile is $37,580. The difference is $10,780, which is 33.3% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $27,370 to the 75th at $35,000, covers $7,630.

The mean annual wage is $32,070, which sits below the median of $32,420. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Goldsboro, NC median is 13.3% lower than the national median of $37,390 for Cooks, Restaurant. In 2024 national prices the local median is $36,649, which is 2% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 8.4% lower than the North Carolina median of $35,400.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Goldsboro, NC is 88.462, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $32,420 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Cooks, Restaurant at $36,649 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

24 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Cooks, Restaurant. Goldsboro, NC ranks 21st of 25 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

  • Raleigh-Cary, NC is 38 miles away, with a median of $36,280 and employment of 7,160. That median is 11.9% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $36,961, against $36,649 here.
  • Greenville, NC is 39 miles away, with a median of $34,130 and employment of 890. That median is 5.3% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $38,608, against $36,649 here.
  • Rocky Mount, NC is 42 miles away, with a median of $29,070 and employment of 420. That median is 10.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $33,030, against $36,649 here.

Employment share

Cooks, Restaurant accounts for 1.0% of wage-and-salary employment in Goldsboro, NC (420 of 40,320). Nationally the occupation is 0.91% of employment (1,409,890 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.15 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in Goldsboro, NC · Cooks, Restaurant by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Cooks, Restaurant make in Goldsboro, NC?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Goldsboro, NC is $32,420. The 10th percentile is $26,800 and the 90th percentile is $37,580. Employment is 420.

How does that compare with the national median for Cooks, Restaurant?

The local median is 13.3% lower than the national median of $37,390.

What is Cooks, Restaurant pay in Goldsboro, NC after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Goldsboro, NC is 88.462, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $32,420 is $36,649. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does Goldsboro, NC compare with nearby metros for Cooks, Restaurant?

Raleigh-Cary, NC is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 38 miles away, at $36,280. Goldsboro, NC ranks 21st of 25 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.