Cooks, Restaurant Salary in New Jersey
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in New Jersey is $38,460 ($18.49 per hour) — +2.9% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $38,460
- Mean annual wage
- $40,770
- Median hourly wage
- $18.49
- Employment in NJ
- 28,800
28,800 employed · 6.7 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in New Jersey
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $32,220 | $15.49 |
| 25th percentile | $35,880 | $17.25 |
| Median (50th) | $38,460 | $18.49 |
| 75th percentile | $45,600 | $21.92 |
| 90th percentile | $50,010 | $24.04 |
What this salary is worth in New Jersey
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $35,348
- Median rent burden
- 53.7%
- Est. affordable home price
- $140,300
New Jersey prices are 108.8 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in New Jersey: $1,720/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $962/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 New Jersey is $454,400 (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
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- 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 New Jersey
- Accountants and Auditors in New Jersey
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in New Jersey
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in New Jersey
- Cashiers in New Jersey
- Construction Laborers in New Jersey
- Customer Service Representatives in New Jersey
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in New Jersey
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in New Jersey
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in New Jersey
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in New Jersey
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in New Jersey
- General and Operations Managers in New Jersey
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in New Jersey
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in New Jersey
- Human Resources Specialists in New Jersey
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in New Jersey
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in New Jersey
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in New Jersey
- Light Truck Drivers in New Jersey
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in New Jersey
- Management Analysts in New Jersey
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in New Jersey
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in New Jersey
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in New Jersey
- Nursing Assistants in New Jersey
- Office Clerks, General in New Jersey
- Project Management Specialists in New Jersey
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in New Jersey
- Registered Nurses in New Jersey
- Retail Salespersons in New Jersey
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in New Jersey
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in New Jersey
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in New Jersey
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in New Jersey
- Security Guards in New Jersey
- Software Developers in New Jersey
- Stockers and Order Fillers in New Jersey
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in New Jersey
- Waiters and Waitresses in New Jersey
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.