Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Illinois
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in Illinois is $37,580 ($18.07 per hour) — +0.5% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $37,580
- Mean annual wage
- $39,520
- Median hourly wage
- $18.07
- Employment in IL
- 53,540
53,540 employed · 8.8 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in Illinois
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $15.00 |
| 25th percentile | $35,360 | $17.00 |
| Median (50th) | $37,580 | $18.07 |
| 75th percentile | $45,010 | $21.64 |
| 90th percentile | $46,460 | $22.34 |
What this salary is worth in Illinois
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $37,596
- Median rent burden
- 40.7%
- Est. affordable home price
- $137,089
Illinois prices are 100.0 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in Illinois: $1,274/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $940/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 Illinois is $263,300 (ACS 2020-2024).
Estimates from documented formulas — see methodology. Not financial advice.
Cooks, Restaurant salary in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- 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 Illinois
- Accountants and Auditors in Illinois
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Illinois
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Illinois
- Cashiers in Illinois
- Construction Laborers in Illinois
- Customer Service Representatives in Illinois
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Illinois
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Illinois
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Illinois
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Illinois
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Illinois
- General and Operations Managers in Illinois
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Illinois
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Illinois
- Human Resources Specialists in Illinois
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Illinois
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Illinois
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Illinois
- Light Truck Drivers in Illinois
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Illinois
- Management Analysts in Illinois
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Illinois
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Illinois
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Illinois
- Nursing Assistants in Illinois
- Office Clerks, General in Illinois
- Project Management Specialists in Illinois
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in Illinois
- Registered Nurses in Illinois
- Retail Salespersons in Illinois
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Illinois
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Illinois
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Illinois
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Illinois
- Security Guards in Illinois
- Software Developers in Illinois
- Stockers and Order Fillers in Illinois
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Illinois
- Waiters and Waitresses in Illinois
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.