Cooks, Short Order Salary: $42,207 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 150,420 cooks, short order nationally earn a mean of $42,207. Employment in the series shown rose about 36% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 5.8% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Cooks, Short Order: what the data shows
Common questions about cooks, short order careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a cooks, short order?
Cooks, Short Order is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 35-2015.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 150,420 workers.
What does a cooks, short order do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Handling and Moving Objects, Performing General Physical Activities, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a cooks, short order make?
BLS national median annual wage: $35,620 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $42,207 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $36,016 |
| 25th percentile | $37,404 |
| Median (50th) | $40,119 |
| 75th percentile | $45,529 |
| 90th percentile | $48,655 |
What education do you need?
For Cooks, Short Order, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Speaking, Service Orientation, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Food Production, Production and Processing, English Language. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is cooks, short order in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 5.8% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 32.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 76.5%.
Current U.S. headcount: 150,420.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do cooks, short orders work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 150,420 | 19.1% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 149,780 | 19.0% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 124,350 | 15.8% |
| Food Services and Drinking Places | 122,600 | 15.5% |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 105,220 | 13.3% |
| Full-Service Restaurants | 36,820 | 4.7% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Cooks, Short Order in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Cooks, Short Order workforce.
Employment Over Time
150,420 Workforce in 2023
The Cooks, Short Order workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Cooks, Short Order.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$42,207 Average Wage
In 2023, Cooks, Short Order earned an average of $42,207.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Cooks, Short Order.
Salary distribution for Cooks, Short Order.
Employment Growth Projections
5.8% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
182,835 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 32.8%
242,870 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 76.5%
This occupation is projected to grow at 5.8% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Cooks, Short Order.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Cooks, Short Order and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Cooks, Short Order employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Cooks, Short Order.
Wage Trends by Industry
0.9% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Cooks, Short Order.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Cooks, Short Order.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 34,490 employees, $41,040 avg wage
- OH: 6,920 employees, $29,710 avg wage
- GA: 6,240 employees, $26,540 avg wage
- FL: 5,210 employees, $35,310 avg wage
- TX: 4,150 employees, $30,310 avg wage
- MA: 4,100 employees, $44,580 avg wage
- LA: 3,920 employees, $30,230 avg wage
- PA: 3,800 employees, $24,680 avg wage
- OR: 3,240 employees, $36,410 avg wage
- NC: 3,000 employees, $29,680 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Cooks, Short Order.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 15,400 employees, $41,670 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 4,070 employees, $41,320 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 3,360 employees, $38,140 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: 2,430 employees, $37,860 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA: 2,340 employees, $37,250 avg wage
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: 1,890 employees, $37,680 avg wage
- Columbus, OH: 1,880 employees, $33,500 avg wage
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD: 1,870 employees, $35,340 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: 1,780 employees, $42,940 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 1,550 employees, $36,260 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Cooks, Short Order.
Diversity
Demographic information on Cooks, Short Order in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Cooks, Short Order in 2023 was 150,420 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Cooks, Short Order.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Cooks, Short Order.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Cooks, Short Order.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Cooks, Short Order in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Cooks, Short Order.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Cooks, Short Order workers.
Education level distribution for Cooks, Short Order.
Skills
Cooks, Short Order need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Speaking.
Required skills for Cooks, Short Order.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Cooks, Short Order.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Cooks, Short Order include Customer and Personal Service, Food Production, Production and Processing, English Language, Mathematics.
Knowledge areas required for Cooks, Short Order.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Cooks, Short Order include Near Vision, Oral Comprehension, Speech Clarity, Speech Recognition, Problem Sensitivity.
Required abilities for Cooks, Short Order.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Cooks, Short Order.
Daily Activities
Cooks, Short Order spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Handling and Moving Objects, Performing General Physical Activities.
Most important work activities for Cooks, Short Order.
About
Cooks, Short Order
The average yearly wage for Cooks, Short Order was $42,207 in 2023.
SOC Code
35-2015 - Cooks, Short Order
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Cooks, Short Order reports an average salary of $42,207.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 150,420 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 5.8%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.