Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Alabama
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in Alabama is $32,180 ($15.47 per hour) — -13.9% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $32,180
- Mean annual wage
- $33,000
- Median hourly wage
- $15.47
- Employment in AL
- 16,260
16,260 employed · 7.7 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in Alabama
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $24,170 | $11.62 |
| 25th percentile | $28,930 | $13.91 |
| Median (50th) | $32,180 | $15.47 |
| 75th percentile | $36,220 | $17.41 |
| 90th percentile | $39,220 | $18.86 |
What this salary is worth in Alabama
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $36,229
- Median rent burden
- 37.6%
- Est. affordable home price
- $117,391
Alabama prices are 88.8 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in Alabama: $1,007/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $805/mo
At 6.67% 30-yr rate (FRED, 2026-08), 20% down, 28% front-end DTI, 1.5%/yr taxes+insurance
For context, the median home value in Alabama is $209,900 (ACS 2020-2024).
Estimates from documented formulas — see methodology. Not financial advice.
Cooks, Restaurant salary in other states
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other salaries in Alabama
- Accountants and Auditors in Alabama
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Alabama
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Alabama
- Cashiers in Alabama
- Construction Laborers in Alabama
- Customer Service Representatives in Alabama
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Alabama
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Alabama
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Alabama
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Alabama
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Alabama
- General and Operations Managers in Alabama
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Alabama
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Alabama
- Human Resources Specialists in Alabama
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Alabama
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Alabama
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Alabama
- Light Truck Drivers in Alabama
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Alabama
- Management Analysts in Alabama
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Alabama
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Alabama
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Alabama
- Nursing Assistants in Alabama
- Office Clerks, General in Alabama
- Project Management Specialists in Alabama
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in Alabama
- Registered Nurses in Alabama
- Retail Salespersons in Alabama
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Alabama
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Alabama
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Alabama
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Alabama
- Security Guards in Alabama
- Software Developers in Alabama
- Stockers and Order Fillers in Alabama
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Alabama
- Waiters and Waitresses in Alabama
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.
- Regional Price Parities — data period 2024, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates — data period 2020-2024, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Federal Reserve Economic Data — data period 2026-08, retrieved August 17, 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.