Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Arkansas
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in Arkansas is $30,180 ($14.51 per hour) — -19.3% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $30,180
- Mean annual wage
- $31,650
- Median hourly wage
- $14.51
- Employment in AR
- 11,270
11,270 employed · 8.6 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in Arkansas
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $26,020 | $12.51 |
| 25th percentile | $28,470 | $13.69 |
| Median (50th) | $30,180 | $14.51 |
| 75th percentile | $35,410 | $17.03 |
| 90th percentile | $37,140 | $17.86 |
What this salary is worth in Arkansas
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $34,715
- Median rent burden
- 37.7%
- Est. affordable home price
- $110,095
Arkansas prices are 86.9 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in Arkansas: $947/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $755/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 Arkansas is $188,000 (ACS 2020-2024).
Estimates from documented formulas — see methodology. Not financial advice.
Cooks, Restaurant salary in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- 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 Arkansas
- Accountants and Auditors in Arkansas
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Arkansas
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Arkansas
- Cashiers in Arkansas
- Construction Laborers in Arkansas
- Customer Service Representatives in Arkansas
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Arkansas
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Arkansas
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Arkansas
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Arkansas
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Arkansas
- General and Operations Managers in Arkansas
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Arkansas
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Arkansas
- Human Resources Specialists in Arkansas
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Arkansas
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Arkansas
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Arkansas
- Light Truck Drivers in Arkansas
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Arkansas
- Management Analysts in Arkansas
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Arkansas
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Arkansas
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Arkansas
- Nursing Assistants in Arkansas
- Office Clerks, General in Arkansas
- Project Management Specialists in Arkansas
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in Arkansas
- Registered Nurses in Arkansas
- Retail Salespersons in Arkansas
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Arkansas
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Arkansas
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Arkansas
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Arkansas
- Security Guards in Arkansas
- Software Developers in Arkansas
- Stockers and Order Fillers in Arkansas
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Arkansas
- Waiters and Waitresses in Arkansas
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.