Pay · 35-2019
Cooks, All Other earn $37,690 a year at the midpoint
Across roughly 19,350 people in this work, the midpoint is $37,690 a year, with most starting near $32,150.
National figures for cooks, all other, 35-2019, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Your salary range
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
The survey has no complete figures for that job — pick the closest title from the list.
An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
Hourly and yearly, at your hours
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Median pay for cooks, all other in each state
The 28 states where the most people do this work, of 33 with a published figure: their medians range by 2.01 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $52,510 | $43,740 | $43,740 — $61,380 | 140 |
| Nevada | $51,220 | $37,230 | $37,230 — $58,920 | 320 |
| New Jersey | $46,080 | $34,700 | $34,700 — $60,610 | 280 |
| North Dakota | $44,190 | $42,750 | $42,750 — $58,240 | 60 |
| Missouri | $43,990 | $33,190 | $33,190 — $59,650 | 70 |
| Colorado | $43,490 | $30,800 | $30,800 — $49,780 | 100 |
| New York | $43,000 | $36,430 | $36,430 — $57,760 | 1,090 |
| Georgia | $42,960 | $27,590 | $27,590 — $42,960 | 340 |
| California | $42,860 | $37,040 | $37,040 — $50,940 | 3,990 |
| Montana | $42,640 | $31,600 | $31,600 — $50,670 | 200 |
| Oregon | $42,020 | $34,850 | $34,850 — $46,510 | 450 |
| Arizona | $41,740 | $32,900 | $32,900 — $56,830 | 550 |
| Vermont | $41,250 | $36,890 | $36,890 — $61,580 | 160 |
| Hawaii | $39,870 | $34,430 | $34,430 — $49,940 | 100 |
| Florida | $39,520 | $28,510 | $28,510 — $51,680 | 710 |
| Connecticut | $37,190 | $34,010 | $34,010 — $53,220 | 220 |
| Michigan | $37,110 | $29,650 | $29,650 — $46,020 | 300 |
| Minnesota | $36,850 | $30,180 | $30,180 — $48,250 | 80 |
| Tennessee | $36,440 | $22,030 | $22,030 — $38,950 | 2,060 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,220 | $27,210 | $27,210 — $50,850 | 660 |
| Virginia | $35,810 | $26,630 | $26,630 — $64,300 | 480 |
| Ohio | $35,360 | $31,200 | $31,200 — $45,630 | 180 |
| Maryland | $32,150 | $31,200 | $31,200 — $46,950 | 610 |
| Texas | $32,150 | $25,600 | $25,600 — $41,570 | 4,650 |
| North Carolina | $31,120 | $21,250 | $21,250 — $43,690 | 150 |
| Arkansas | $30,780 | $27,050 | $27,050 — $55,450 | 90 |
| Louisiana | $28,930 | $23,950 | $23,950 — $39,880 | 430 |
| Iowa | $26,060 | $24,340 | $24,340 — $43,340 | 210 |
Examples
Resumes made for this kind of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
- Cook Resume Template Food Service
- Food Preparation Worker Resume Template Food Service
- Short Order Cook Resume Template Food Service
- Restaurant Cook Resume Template Food Service
- Private Household Cook Resume Template Food Service
- Institutional Cook Resume Template Food Service
- Fast Food Cook Resume Template Food Service
- Bartender Resume Template Food Service
- Fast Food Counter Worker Resume Template Food Service
- Food Service Supervisor Resume Template Food Service
- Chef Resume Template Food Service
- Server Resume Template Food Service
Ranked 727 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 8% of the occupations in the survey.
- 725 Passenger Attendants $37,720
- 726 Tire Repairers and Changers $37,710
- 727 Cooks, All Other $37,690
- 728 Pharmacy Aides $37,680
- 729 Dietetic Technicians $37,640
A resume for cooks, all other
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Read food order slips or received verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions.
- Monitored and recorded food temperatures to ensure food safety.
- Peeled, washed, trimmed, and cooked vegetables and meats, and baked breads and pastries.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
What people often ask
How much do cooks, all other make a year?
The national median is $37,690 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $32,150 and $43,680.
What is the hourly pay for cooks, all other?
The median is $18.12 an hour; the average is $39,150 a year.
What do cooks, all other earn when they start?
A beginner is usually paid nearer the 25th percentile, $32,150 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $27,040.
Which state pays cooks, all other the most?
Massachusetts, with a median of $69,570 a year.
How many people work as cooks, all other?
About 19,350 in the United States — number 727 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays about the same
Median pay within $50 of what cooks, all other earn — $37,690 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $20 more Tire Repairers and Changers $37,710median a year 10th percentile: $30,010 90th percentile: $50,230
- $30 more Passenger Attendants $37,720median a year 10th percentile: $27,970 90th percentile: $46,590
- $50 less Dietetic Technicians $37,640median a year 10th percentile: $29,720 90th percentile: $54,020