Cooks, Restaurant Salary: $45,498 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 1,452,130 cooks, restaurant nationally earn a mean of $45,498. Employment in the series shown rose about 10% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 3.0% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Cooks, Restaurant: what the data shows
Common questions about cooks, restaurant careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a cooks, restaurant?
Cooks, Restaurant is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 35-2014.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 1,452,130 workers.
What does a cooks, restaurant do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Handling and Moving Objects, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a cooks, restaurant make?
BLS national median annual wage: $36,830 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $45,498 — 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 | $37,466 |
| 25th percentile | $39,245 |
| Median (50th) | $45,549 |
| 75th percentile | $48,295 |
| 90th percentile | $56,245 |
What education do you need?
For Cooks, Restaurant, 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 Monitoring, Time Management, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Speaking, and knowledge areas including Food Production, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Production and Processing. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is cooks, restaurant in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.0% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 16.2%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 35.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 1,452,130.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do cooks, restaurants work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 1,452,130 | 17.4% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 1,442,390 | 17.2% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 1,356,300 | 16.2% |
| Food Services and Drinking Places | 1,281,780 | 15.3% |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 1,217,410 | 14.5% |
| Full-Service Restaurants | 1,078,250 | 12.9% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Cooks, Restaurant in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Chefs and Head Cooks | 182,320 | $60,990 |
| Food Service Managers | — | — |
| Bakers | 231,890 | $36,650 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Cooks, Restaurant workforce.
Employment Over Time
1,452,130 Workforce in 2023
The Cooks, Restaurant workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Cooks, Restaurant.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$45,498 Average Wage
In 2023, Cooks, Restaurant earned an average of $45,498.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Cooks, Restaurant.
Salary distribution for Cooks, Restaurant.
Employment Growth Projections
3.0% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
743,570 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 16.2%
864,008 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 35.0%
This occupation is projected to grow at 3.0% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Cooks, Restaurant.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Cooks, Restaurant and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Cooks, Restaurant employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Cooks, Restaurant.
Wage Trends by Industry
4.8% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Cooks, Restaurant.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Cooks, Restaurant.
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: 160,270 employees, $44,240 avg wage
- FL: 134,480 employees, $36,620 avg wage
- TX: 125,880 employees, $33,250 avg wage
- NY: 62,430 employees, $42,890 avg wage
- IL: 61,630 employees, $37,840 avg wage
- PA: 54,830 employees, $34,140 avg wage
- NC: 50,400 employees, $34,820 avg wage
- OH: 49,880 employees, $33,230 avg wage
- GA: 49,320 employees, $33,440 avg wage
- VA: 41,010 employees, $37,840 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Cooks, Restaurant.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 62,890 employees, $43,310 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 57,770 employees, $44,270 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 47,100 employees, $38,810 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 40,490 employees, $35,990 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 33,190 employees, $35,550 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 32,020 employees, $33,260 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 31,750 employees, $34,650 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 30,860 employees, $42,280 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 25,110 employees, $40,680 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 24,790 employees, $37,110 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Cooks, Restaurant.
Diversity
Demographic information on Cooks, Restaurant in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Cooks, Restaurant in 2023 was 1,452,130 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Cooks, Restaurant.
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, Restaurant.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Cooks, Restaurant.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Cooks, Restaurant in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Cooks, Restaurant.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Cooks, Restaurant workers.
Education level distribution for Cooks, Restaurant.
Skills
Cooks, Restaurant need many skills, but most especially Monitoring, Time Management, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Active Listening.
Required skills for Cooks, Restaurant.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Cooks, Restaurant.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Cooks, Restaurant include Food Production, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Production and Processing, Education and Training.
Knowledge areas required for Cooks, Restaurant.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Cooks, Restaurant include Near Vision, Speech Recognition, Manual Dexterity, Information Ordering, Problem Sensitivity.
Required abilities for Cooks, Restaurant.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Cooks, Restaurant.
Daily Activities
Cooks, Restaurant spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Handling and Moving Objects.
Most important work activities for Cooks, Restaurant.
About
Cooks, Restaurant
The average yearly wage for Cooks, Restaurant was $45,498 in 2023.
SOC Code
35-2014 - Cooks, Restaurant
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Cooks, Restaurant reports an average salary of $45,498.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 1,452,130 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 3.0%, 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.