Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Tennessee
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in Tennessee is $36,420 ($17.51 per hour) — -2.6% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $36,420
- Mean annual wage
- $36,530
- Median hourly wage
- $17.51
- Employment in TN
- 28,220
28,220 employed · 8.6 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in Tennessee
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $27,910 | $13.42 |
| 25th percentile | $30,610 | $14.72 |
| Median (50th) | $36,420 | $17.51 |
| 75th percentile | $40,740 | $19.59 |
| 90th percentile | $45,650 | $21.95 |
What this salary is worth in Tennessee
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $39,643
- Median rent burden
- 39.2%
- Est. affordable home price
- $132,858
Tennessee prices are 91.9 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in Tennessee: $1,189/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $911/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 Tennessee is $286,700 (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 Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other salaries in Tennessee
- Accountants and Auditors in Tennessee
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Tennessee
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Tennessee
- Cashiers in Tennessee
- Construction Laborers in Tennessee
- Customer Service Representatives in Tennessee
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Tennessee
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Tennessee
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Tennessee
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Tennessee
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Tennessee
- General and Operations Managers in Tennessee
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Tennessee
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Tennessee
- Human Resources Specialists in Tennessee
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Tennessee
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Tennessee
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Tennessee
- Light Truck Drivers in Tennessee
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Tennessee
- Management Analysts in Tennessee
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Tennessee
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Tennessee
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Tennessee
- Nursing Assistants in Tennessee
- Office Clerks, General in Tennessee
- Project Management Specialists in Tennessee
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in Tennessee
- Registered Nurses in Tennessee
- Retail Salespersons in Tennessee
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Tennessee
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Tennessee
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Tennessee
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Tennessee
- Security Guards in Tennessee
- Software Developers in Tennessee
- Stockers and Order Fillers in Tennessee
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Tennessee
- Waiters and Waitresses in Tennessee
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.