Cooks, Fast Food Salary in the United States

The median annual wage for cooks, fast food in the U.S. is $30,890 ($14.85 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.

Median annual wage: $30,890
Mean annual wage: $32,390
Median hourly wage: $14.85
Employment: 641,070

Wage percentiles

U.S. wage distribution for cooks, fast food (OEWS May 2025).
Percentile	Annual wage	Hourly wage
10th percentile	$22,580	$10.86
25th percentile	$27,260	$13.11
Median (50th)	$30,890	$14.85
75th percentile	$37,260	$17.92
90th percentile	$42,910	$20.63

Highest-paying states for cooks, fast food

State	Median annual wage	Employment
Hawaii	$48,120	—
District of Columbia	$44,670	2,760
California	$42,050	124,440
Washington	$39,120	9,020
New Hampshire	$38,590	1,330
Vermont	$38,230	640
Oregon	$37,880	4,300
Massachusetts	$37,870	—
Colorado	$36,900	9,220
Maine	$36,350	1,470

Lowest-paying states

Mississippi: $22,670 median annual wage
West Virginia: $23,120 median annual wage
Kentucky: $23,500 median annual wage
Louisiana: $24,960 median annual wage
Montana: $26,770 median annual wage

Related occupations

Fast Food and Counter Workers$31,200
Waiters and Waitresses$35,230
Cooks, Restaurant$37,390
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$44,080
Food Preparation Workers$35,320
Bartenders$34,340
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$33,980
Dishwashers$34,810

About this data

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.

Figures are shown exactly as published by the source or derived by the documented formulas on our methodology page. Where a source suppresses an estimate, we show “—” rather than a substitute value.