Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Washington
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in Washington is $46,800 ($22.50 per hour) — +25.2% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $46,800
- Mean annual wage
- $47,200
- Median hourly wage
- $22.50
- Employment in WA
- 35,140
35,140 employed · 9.9 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in Washington
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $37,940 | $18.24 |
| 25th percentile | $42,770 | $20.56 |
| Median (50th) | $46,800 | $22.50 |
| 75th percentile | $49,540 | $23.82 |
| 90th percentile | $57,910 | $27.84 |
What this salary is worth in Washington
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $43,733
- Median rent burden
- 45.1%
- Est. affordable home price
- $170,723
Washington prices are 107.0 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in Washington: $1,760/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $1,170/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 Washington is $564,600 (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
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other salaries in Washington
- Accountants and Auditors in Washington
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Washington
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Washington
- Cashiers in Washington
- Construction Laborers in Washington
- Customer Service Representatives in Washington
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Washington
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Washington
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Washington
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Washington
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Washington
- General and Operations Managers in Washington
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Washington
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Washington
- Human Resources Specialists in Washington
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Washington
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Washington
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Washington
- Light Truck Drivers in Washington
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Washington
- Management Analysts in Washington
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Washington
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Washington
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Washington
- Nursing Assistants in Washington
- Office Clerks, General in Washington
- Project Management Specialists in Washington
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in Washington
- Registered Nurses in Washington
- Retail Salespersons in Washington
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Washington
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Washington
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Washington
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Washington
- Security Guards in Washington
- Software Developers in Washington
- Stockers and Order Fillers in Washington
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Washington
- Waiters and Waitresses in Washington
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.