Cooks, Restaurant salary

What Cooks, Restaurant earn across the United States and in the largest metro areas — the official BLS OEWS May 2025 figures.

National wages — United States

Nationally, BLS estimates 1,409,890 Cooks, Restaurant jobs — 0.9% of all US employment. The national median wage is $37,390 a year ($17.98 an hour) and the mean is $38,730 a year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026.

Wage level	Hourly	Annual
Mean	$18.62	$38,730
10th percentile	$13.80	$28,700
25th percentile	$16.35	$34,010
Median (50th percentile)	$17.98	$37,390
75th percentile	$21.45	$44,620
90th percentile	$23.03	$47,900

Median pay by metro area

Metro area	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment	vs US median
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$47,730	$22.95	20,850	+27.7%
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$46,440	$22.33	15,670	+24.2%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$46,030	$22.13	20,540	+23.1%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$45,830	$22.03	22,900	+22.6%
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$45,200	$21.73	13,020	+20.9%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$44,460	$21.38	54,320	+18.9%
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$44,370	$21.33	15,410	+18.7%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$43,740	$21.03	69,250	+17.0%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$42,920	$20.64	29,670	+14.8%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$42,450	$20.41	14,280	+13.5%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$39,640	$19.06	17,760	+6.0%
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$39,170	$18.83	21,780	+4.8%
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$38,930	$18.72	41,690	+4.1%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$38,270	$18.40	24,220	+2.4%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$37,970	$18.26	19,960	+1.6%
St. Louis, MO-IL	$37,690	$18.12	12,970	+0.8%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$37,420	$17.99	7,760	+0.1%
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$37,410	$17.98	16,490	+0.1%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$37,230	$17.90	29,040	-0.4%
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$37,030	$17.80	14,430	-1.0%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$37,010	$17.79	18,640	-1.0%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$36,920	$17.75	37,210	-1.3%
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$36,810	$17.70	13,000	-1.6%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$36,490	$17.54	34,430	-2.4%
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$35,050	$16.85	32,710	-6.3%

Each metro page carries the full OEWS wage distribution, the employment figures, and the estimated take-home pay on that metro's median under 2026 tax rules.

Sources

Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. Take-home estimates are computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 rules.