Cooks, Restaurant Salary in the United States

The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in the U.S. is $37,390 ($17.98 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.

Median annual wage: $37,390
Mean annual wage: $38,730
Median hourly wage: $17.98
Employment: 1,409,890

Wage percentiles

U.S. wage distribution for cooks, restaurant (OEWS May 2025).
Percentile	Annual wage	Hourly wage
10th percentile	$28,700	$13.80
25th percentile	$34,010	$16.35
Median (50th)	$37,390	$17.98
75th percentile	$44,620	$21.45
90th percentile	$47,900	$23.03

Highest-paying states for cooks, restaurant

State	Median annual wage	Employment
Washington	$46,800	35,140
District of Columbia	$46,130	7,720
Massachusetts	$45,600	29,570
Hawaii	$45,420	11,090
Vermont	$45,390	2,360
Maine	$45,290	5,130
California	$44,880	152,250
New York	$43,680	71,530
Oregon	$43,100	21,550
Colorado	$41,600	30,600

Lowest-paying states

Louisiana: $29,050 median annual wage
Mississippi: $29,560 median annual wage
West Virginia: $29,590 median annual wage
Arkansas: $30,180 median annual wage
Oklahoma: $31,720 median annual wage

Related occupations

Fast Food and Counter Workers$31,200
Waiters and Waitresses$35,230
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$44,080
Food Preparation Workers$35,320
Bartenders$34,340
Cooks, Fast Food$30,890
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.