Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Median $37,450
Occupation · SOC 35-2011
Cooks, Fast Food: pay and where the jobs are
What cooks, fast food earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$30,890 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $32,390
- Median hourly wage
- $14.85
- Mean hourly wage
- $15.57
- Employment
- 641,070
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-2011.
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See where your pay falls among cooks, fast food nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do cooks, fast food make?
The median annual wage for cooks, fast food was $30,890 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $22,580 and the highest-paid 10% more than $42,910. As an hourly rate, the median is $14.85. About 641,070 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Hawaii ($48,120), District of Columbia ($44,670) and California ($42,050). Hawaii also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for cooks, fast food looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $22,580 | $10.86 | $1,882 | $1,684 |
| 25th percentile | $27,260 | $13.11 | $2,272 | $2,005 |
| Median | $30,890 | $14.85 | $2,574 | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $37,260 | $17.92 | $3,105 | $2,677 |
| 90th percentile | $42,910 | $20.63 | $3,576 | $3,055 |
Cooks, Fast Food: pay by state
53 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$35,211 take-home in national prices
2
$33,265 take-home in national prices
3
$32,719 take-home in national prices
Where a median cooks, fast food paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | Not published | $48,120 | $29,120 | $53,580 | $38,714 | $35,211 |
| District of Columbia | 2,760 | $44,670 | $36,480 | $51,260 | $36,558 | $33,265 |
| California | 124,440 | $42,050 | $35,750 | $48,750 | $34,756 | $31,391 |
| Washington | 9,020 | $39,120 | $35,330 | $44,860 | $33,070 | $30,903 |
| New Hampshire | 1,330 | $38,590 | $35,720 | $45,930 | $33,187 | $31,860 |
| Vermont | 640 | $38,230 | $31,540 | $39,650 | $32,051 | $32,719 |
| Oregon | 4,300 | $37,880 | $31,610 | $49,240 | $30,118 | $29,139 |
| Massachusetts | Not published | $37,870 | $35,590 | $48,140 | $30,761 | $29,086 |
| Colorado | 9,220 | $36,900 | $31,970 | $46,610 | $30,752 | $29,841 |
| Maine | 1,470 | $36,350 | $31,350 | $44,280 | $30,315 | $31,237 |
| New York | 11,710 | $35,770 | $32,770 | $40,250 | $29,401 | $27,243 |
| Rhode Island | 1,210 | $35,230 | $31,200 | $38,470 | $29,396 | $28,740 |
| Connecticut | 3,630 | $34,980 | $34,010 | $42,640 | $29,237 | $28,219 |
| Illinois | 13,430 | $34,960 | $31,200 | $40,580 | $28,685 | $28,697 |
| Minnesota | 5,190 | $34,120 | $24,550 | $39,560 | $28,438 | $28,836 |
| Alaska | 2,250 | $33,960 | $30,160 | $37,760 | $29,297 | $28,622 |
| Nevada | 5,890 | $33,840 | $26,530 | $43,440 | $29,370 | $29,377 |
| Maryland | 10,960 | $33,320 | $31,200 | $38,210 | $27,736 | $26,425 |
| Arizona | 11,210 | $32,660 | $30,580 | $36,440 | $28,000 | $27,811 |
| New Jersey | 3,440 | $32,220 | $32,220 | $41,860 | $27,320 | $25,109 |
| Delaware | 850 | $31,840 | $31,200 | $48,870 | $26,546 | $26,597 |
| Utah | 4,400 | $31,800 | $27,760 | $47,200 | $27,106 | $27,417 |
| Idaho | 1,610 | $31,070 | $18,620 | $35,860 | $26,606 | $27,862 |
| South Dakota | 1,720 | $30,950 | $25,410 | $34,910 | $27,048 | $30,533 |
| Nebraska | 2,900 | $30,430 | $28,080 | $36,910 | $26,092 | $28,958 |
| North Dakota | 580 | $30,220 | $23,060 | $38,480 | $26,462 | $29,746 |
| New Mexico | 1,800 | $30,190 | $27,860 | $37,550 | $26,080 | $28,283 |
| Virginia | 12,520 | $29,950 | $27,400 | $37,730 | $25,337 | $25,060 |
| Florida | 22,600 | $29,900 | $27,460 | $41,400 | $26,205 | $25,340 |
| Missouri | 55,780 | $29,890 | $28,600 | $35,290 | $25,729 | $28,331 |
| Indiana | 6,830 | $29,870 | $24,050 | $37,310 | $25,329 | $27,139 |
| Michigan | 14,340 | $29,460 | $25,960 | $37,240 | $24,850 | $25,827 |
| Wyoming | 890 | $28,950 | $21,240 | $42,520 | $25,441 | $27,447 |
| Wisconsin | 6,900 | $28,920 | $22,550 | $34,920 | $24,879 | $26,441 |
| Pennsylvania | 9,240 | $28,810 | $22,610 | $42,380 | $24,424 | $25,032 |
| Kansas | 1,610 | $28,640 | $22,480 | $38,680 | $24,367 | $27,054 |
| Iowa | 8,290 | $28,510 | $15,080 | $40,810 | $24,656 | $28,094 |
| Tennessee | 14,020 | $28,330 | $20,380 | $38,330 | $24,940 | $27,147 |
| Texas | 36,240 | $28,280 | $20,800 | $39,140 | $24,899 | $25,654 |
| Alabama | 26,740 | $27,870 | $22,640 | $34,170 | $23,486 | $26,442 |
| Oklahoma | 8,860 | $27,720 | $22,340 | $36,900 | $23,736 | $27,020 |
| Arkansas | 7,860 | $27,710 | $23,770 | $32,720 | $23,888 | $27,477 |
| South Carolina | 9,110 | $27,420 | $21,690 | $37,140 | $23,943 | $25,540 |
| North Carolina | 81,980 | $27,190 | $21,890 | $34,860 | $23,425 | $24,834 |
| Georgia | 12,940 | $26,940 | $20,800 | $36,810 | $23,199 | $24,092 |
| Ohio | 12,310 | $26,870 | $22,500 | $35,570 | $23,737 | $25,586 |
| Montana | 820 | $26,770 | $22,090 | $47,100 | $23,154 | $24,464 |
| Louisiana | 3,000 | $24,960 | $20,890 | $29,640 | $21,802 | $24,717 |
| Kentucky | 21,750 | $23,500 | $21,220 | $30,000 | $20,257 | $22,468 |
| West Virginia | 16,490 | $23,120 | $21,600 | $28,300 | $20,126 | $22,488 |
| Mississippi | 11,170 | $22,670 | $18,540 | $28,790 | $20,104 | $23,120 |
| Puerto Rico | 3,810 | $22,640 | $21,840 | $29,000 | — | — |
| Guam | 650 | $21,690 | $21,120 | $22,820 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-2011. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.