Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Virginia
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in Virginia is $36,750 ($17.67 per hour) — -1.7% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $36,750
- Mean annual wage
- $38,180
- Median hourly wage
- $17.67
- Employment in VA
- 40,310
40,310 employed · 9.8 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in Virginia
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $29,340 | $14.11 |
| 25th percentile | $33,270 | $16.00 |
| Median (50th) | $36,750 | $17.67 |
| 75th percentile | $42,990 | $20.67 |
| 90th percentile | $45,740 | $21.99 |
What this salary is worth in Virginia
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $36,349
- Median rent burden
- 51.6%
- Est. affordable home price
- $134,062
Virginia prices are 101.1 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in Virginia: $1,579/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $919/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 Virginia is $383,700 (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
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other salaries in Virginia
- Accountants and Auditors in Virginia
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Virginia
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Virginia
- Cashiers in Virginia
- Construction Laborers in Virginia
- Customer Service Representatives in Virginia
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Virginia
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Virginia
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Virginia
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Virginia
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Virginia
- General and Operations Managers in Virginia
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Virginia
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Virginia
- Human Resources Specialists in Virginia
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Virginia
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Virginia
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Virginia
- Light Truck Drivers in Virginia
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Virginia
- Management Analysts in Virginia
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Virginia
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Virginia
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Virginia
- Nursing Assistants in Virginia
- Office Clerks, General in Virginia
- Project Management Specialists in Virginia
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in Virginia
- Registered Nurses in Virginia
- Retail Salespersons in Virginia
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Virginia
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Virginia
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Virginia
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Virginia
- Security Guards in Virginia
- Software Developers in Virginia
- Stockers and Order Fillers in Virginia
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Virginia
- Waiters and Waitresses in Virginia
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.