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

How much do Cooks, Restaurant make in Ponce, PR?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Ponce, PR is $23,350. The 10th percentile is $21,840 and the 90th percentile is $28,740. Employment is 600.

Median annual wage

$23,350

10th percentile
$21,840
25th percentile
$22,320
Median
$23,350
75th percentile
$26,530
90th percentile
$28,740
Mean
$25,110

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

A welder working in a workshop
A welder at a workshop bench. Photograph by ABDULIUMAR. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Percentile spread

For Cooks, Restaurant, the published 10th percentile is $21,840 and the 90th percentile is $28,740. The difference is $6,900, which is 29.6% 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 $22,320 to the 75th at $26,530, covers $4,210.

The mean annual wage is $25,110, which sits above the median of $23,350. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Ponce, PR median is 37.6% lower than the national median of $37,390 for Cooks, Restaurant.

It is 5.3% lower than the Puerto Rico median of $24,650.

Price-adjusted pay

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has not published a 2024 all-items regional price parity for Ponce, PR, so this page does not show a price-adjusted wage.

Nearby metros

5 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Cooks, Restaurant. Ponce, PR ranks 4th of 6 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).).

  • Arecibo, PR is 30 miles away, with a median of $23,970 and employment of 380. That median is 2.7% higher than the median here.
  • Mayaguez, PR is 34 miles away, with a median of $23,090 and employment of 570. That median is 1.1% lower than the median here.
  • Guayama, PR is 38 miles away, with a median of $23,380 and employment of 110. That median is 0.1% higher than the median here.

Employment share

Cooks, Restaurant accounts for 0.94% of wage-and-salary employment in Ponce, PR (600 of 63,500). Nationally the occupation is 0.91% of employment (1,409,890 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.04 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 Ponce, PR · 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 Ponce, PR?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Ponce, PR is $23,350. The 10th percentile is $21,840 and the 90th percentile is $28,740. Employment is 600.

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

The local median is 37.6% lower than the national median of $37,390.

How does Ponce, PR compare with nearby metros for Cooks, Restaurant?

Arecibo, PR is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 30 miles away, at $23,970. Ponce, PR ranks 4th of 6 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.