Pay for restaurant cooks in every state, what it comes to after tax, and how far it goes after local prices and rent.
Restaurant cooks earn a median of $37,390 a year, or $17.98 an hour, 26.7% less than the $50,980 median for all jobs. Pay is highest in Washington ($46,800) and lowest in Louisiana ($29,050). The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts them as “Cooks, Restaurant” (occupation code 35-2014).
Half of the 1,409,890 restaurant cooks in the survey earn between $34,010 and $44,620. The bottom tenth earn under $28,700, the figure the Bureau itself uses as a rough guide to starting pay, and the top tenth more than $47,900. The average is $38,730; it sits above the median because the top earners pull it up.
| Nationally | Per year | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $28,700 | $13.80 |
| Bottom quarter earn less than | $34,010 | $16.35 |
| Median | $37,390 | $17.98 |
| Top quarter earn more than | $44,620 | $21.45 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $47,900 | $23.03 |
Hourly figures divide the yearly ones by 2,080 hours, the survey's own full-time year. Convert any salary.
The highest state medians are in Washington ($46,800), District of Columbia ($46,130), Massachusetts ($45,600), Hawaii ($45,420) and Vermont ($45,390). The lowest are in Louisiana ($29,050), Mississippi ($29,560), West Virginia ($29,590), Arkansas ($30,180) and Oklahoma ($31,720).
Higher pay often comes with higher prices. Adjusted for each state's price level, pay goes furthest in Maine ($46,667 at national prices), Vermont ($46,336), Washington ($43,733), Massachusetts ($43,118) and District of Columbia ($41,974).
The most restaurant cooks work in California (152,250), Texas (126,620) and Florida (124,040). Relative to all jobs, the work is most common in Hawaii (17.7 per 1,000 jobs), Nevada (17.6) and Montana (14.8).
On the national median of $37,390, a single filer in a state with no income tax takes home about $32,223 a year after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, or $1,239 every two weeks. On each state's own median and taxes, take-home ranges from $24,650 in Louisiana to $39,784 in Washington. Work out your own paycheck.
The typical rent in each state's median county takes a median 50.5% of a line cook's gross pay, and stays under the usual 30% guideline in 0 of the 50 states and DC. With 10% down at a 7.03% mortgage rate, a single line cook earning the state median could afford the typical home in its median county in 0 of the 50 states and DC, under the 28% guideline. On the national median alone, that guideline stretches to about $97,630. Try it with your own numbers, or see where this pay covers the typical rent.
| Alabama | $32,180 | $15.47 | −13.9% | $36,229 | $26,468 | 51.2% | 16,260 |
| Alaska | $40,140 | $19.30 | +7.4% | $39,215 | $34,432 | 54.6% | 2,350 |
| Arizona | $38,670 | $18.59 | +3.4% | $38,410 | $32,285 | 51.9% | 30,870 |
| Arkansas | $30,180 | $14.51 | −19.3% | $34,715 | $25,680 | 43.7% | 11,270 |
| California | $44,880 | $21.58 | +20.0% | $40,535 | $37,013 | 65.6% | 152,250 |
| Colorado | $41,600 | $20.00 | +11.3% | $40,368 | $33,775 | 58.3% | 30,600 |
| Connecticut | $39,480 | $18.98 | +5.6% | $38,104 | $32,376 | 60.6% | 14,830 |
| Delaware | $37,840 | $18.19 | +1.2% | $37,913 | $30,871 | 60.0% | 5,280 |
| District of Columbia | $46,130 | $22.18 | +23.4% | $41,974 | $36,647 | 65.8% | 7,720 |
| Florida | $37,020 | $17.80 | −1.0% | $35,798 | $31,926 | 62.0% | 124,040 |
| Georgia | $35,940 | $17.28 | −3.9% | $37,324 | $29,264 | 55.9% | 46,350 |
| Hawaii | $45,420 | $21.84 | +21.5% | $41,309 | $36,322 | 83.7% | 11,090 |
| Idaho | $36,440 | $17.52 | −2.5% | $38,159 | $29,528 | 50.8% | 8,130 |
| Illinois | $37,580 | $18.07 | +0.5% | $37,596 | $30,515 | 38.4% | 53,540 |
| Indiana | $35,170 | $16.91 | −5.9% | $37,684 | $29,402 | 40.4% | 26,960 |
| Iowa | $35,670 | $17.15 | −4.6% | $40,644 | $29,485 | 34.8% | 12,270 |
| Kansas | $35,130 | $16.89 | −6.0% | $39,004 | $28,534 | 43.2% | 11,620 |
| Kentucky | $34,640 | $16.65 | −7.4% | $38,421 | $28,801 | 43.6% | 13,510 |
| Louisiana | $29,050 | $13.97 | −22.3% | $32,934 | $24,650 | 55.1% | 14,910 |
| Maine | $45,290 | $21.78 | +21.1% | $46,667 | $35,774 | 43.9% | 5,130 |
| Maryland | $37,820 | $18.19 | +1.2% | $36,033 | $30,824 | 61.6% | 17,690 |
| Massachusetts | $45,600 | $21.92 | +22.0% | $43,118 | $36,540 | 64.3% | 29,570 |
| Michigan | $36,980 | $17.78 | −1.1% | $38,434 | $30,322 | 43.5% | 39,100 |
| Minnesota | $38,590 | $18.55 | +3.2% | $39,130 | $31,046 | 40.0% | 26,080 |
| Mississippi | $29,560 | $14.21 | −20.9% | $33,995 | $25,149 | 58.6% | 10,770 |
| Missouri | $36,940 | $17.76 | −1.2% | $40,675 | $30,306 | 41.8% | 25,990 |
| Montana | $38,060 | $18.30 | +1.8% | $40,213 | $30,972 | 48.1% | 7,580 |
| Nebraska | $37,030 | $17.81 | −1.0% | $41,097 | $30,550 | 42.0% | 4,750 |
| Nevada | $38,610 | $18.56 | +3.3% | $38,618 | $33,203 | 56.3% | 27,250 |
| New Hampshire | $40,200 | $19.33 | +7.5% | $38,593 | $34,481 | 62.0% | 7,190 |
| New Jersey | $38,460 | $18.49 | +2.9% | $35,348 | $32,419 | 71.6% | 28,800 |
| New Mexico | $35,020 | $16.84 | −6.3% | $37,978 | $29,082 | 50.5% | 7,810 |
| New York | $43,680 | $21.00 | +16.8% | $40,474 | $35,083 | 42.5% | 71,530 |
| North Carolina | $35,400 | $17.02 | −5.3% | $37,529 | $29,211 | 54.8% | 50,150 |
| North Dakota | $36,470 | $17.53 | −2.5% | $40,996 | $31,484 | 39.9% | 4,490 |
| Ohio | $35,540 | $17.09 | −4.9% | $38,308 | $30,475 | 43.9% | 46,910 |
| Oklahoma | $31,720 | $15.25 | −15.2% | $36,110 | $26,454 | 48.0% | 17,050 |
| Oregon | $43,100 | $20.72 | +15.3% | $41,699 | $33,359 | 47.6% | 21,550 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,580 | $17.59 | −2.2% | $37,490 | $30,449 | 43.0% | 54,100 |
| Rhode Island | $36,510 | $17.55 | −2.4% | $35,696 | $30,147 | 81.0% | 6,950 |
| South Carolina | $35,740 | $17.18 | −4.4% | $38,123 | $30,001 | 51.1% | 25,890 |
| South Dakota | $36,220 | $17.42 | −3.1% | $40,887 | $31,283 | 42.9% | 1,890 |
| Tennessee | $36,420 | $17.51 | −2.6% | $39,643 | $31,443 | 49.0% | 28,220 |
| Texas | $34,760 | $16.71 | −7.0% | $35,814 | $30,110 | 50.9% | 126,620 |
| Utah | $36,490 | $17.55 | −2.4% | $36,909 | $29,876 | 57.3% | 10,520 |
| Vermont | $45,390 | $21.82 | +21.4% | $46,336 | $37,130 | 46.7% | 2,360 |
| Virginia | $36,750 | $17.67 | −1.7% | $36,349 | $29,853 | 59.9% | 40,310 |
| Washington | $46,800 | $22.50 | +25.2% | $43,733 | $39,784 | 46.8% | 35,140 |
| West Virginia | $29,590 | $14.23 | −20.9% | $33,063 | $25,178 | 44.8% | 6,450 |
| Wisconsin | $36,550 | $17.57 | −2.2% | $38,844 | $30,076 | 39.8% | 25,410 |
| Wyoming | $36,830 | $17.71 | −1.5% | $39,734 | $31,773 | 43.5% | 2,710 |
Click a column to sort it. “After local prices” divides the median by the state's price level (national average = 100). Take-home is for a single filer on the state median with no retirement or health deductions. Rent share is a year of the typical rent in the state's median county against the median pay. A dash means the survey publishes no figure.
Fast Food Worker $31,200 · Server $35,230 · Food Service Supervisor $44,080 · Food Prep Worker $35,320 · Bartender $34,340