Cooks, Fast Food
Median $30,890
Occupation · SOC 35-2015
Cooks, Short Order: pay and where the jobs are
What cooks, short order earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$35,880 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $36,120
- Median hourly wage
- $17.25
- Mean hourly wage
- $17.37
- Employment
- 138,650
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-2015.
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See where your pay falls among cooks, short order nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do cooks, short order make?
The median annual wage for cooks, short order was $35,880 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $23,440 and the highest-paid 10% more than $46,460. As an hourly rate, the median is $17.25. About 138,650 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Arizona ($46,630), Rhode Island ($46,250) and Massachusetts ($44,290). Arizona also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for cooks, short order 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 | $23,440 | $11.27 | $1,953 | $1,743 |
| 25th percentile | $30,610 | $14.71 | $2,551 | $2,231 |
| Median | $35,880 | $17.25 | $2,990 | $2,584 |
| 75th percentile | $42,450 | $20.41 | $3,538 | $3,024 |
| 90th percentile | $46,460 | $22.34 | $3,872 | $3,293 |
Cooks, Short Order: pay by state
51 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
$38,614 take-home in national prices
2
$36,875 take-home in national prices
3
$35,494 take-home in national prices
Where a median cooks, short order paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1,880 | $46,630 | $31,790 | $50,180 | $38,875 | $38,614 |
| Rhode Island | Not published | $46,250 | $31,940 | $47,920 | $37,716 | $36,875 |
| Massachusetts | 4,760 | $44,290 | $32,550 | $53,780 | $35,569 | $33,633 |
| Hawaii | 460 | $43,110 | $36,840 | $61,640 | $35,066 | $31,893 |
| California | 30,740 | $42,930 | $35,880 | $47,150 | $35,416 | $31,987 |
| Washington | 1,700 | $42,760 | $34,650 | $55,660 | $35,945 | $33,589 |
| Colorado | 1,900 | $42,450 | $32,030 | $64,840 | $34,942 | $33,908 |
| Connecticut | Not published | $42,450 | $34,610 | $46,040 | $34,506 | $33,304 |
| District of Columbia | 1,910 | $42,450 | $39,650 | $47,060 | $34,908 | $31,763 |
| New Jersey | 850 | $40,720 | $33,540 | $51,440 | $33,847 | $31,108 |
| Idaho | 120 | $40,090 | $23,130 | $61,190 | $33,376 | $34,951 |
| Vermont | 670 | $38,830 | $34,990 | $47,760 | $32,513 | $33,191 |
| Oregon | 1,780 | $38,550 | $30,090 | $54,870 | $30,601 | $29,606 |
| Delaware | Not published | $38,500 | $33,040 | $42,810 | $31,501 | $31,561 |
| Missouri | Not published | $38,490 | $29,810 | $46,440 | $32,235 | $35,494 |
| Utah | 320 | $38,010 | $21,820 | $49,410 | $31,738 | $32,103 |
| Alaska | 330 | $37,780 | $34,830 | $47,600 | $32,347 | $31,602 |
| Nevada | 790 | $37,780 | $27,040 | $41,530 | $32,536 | $32,543 |
| Illinois | 2,630 | $37,440 | $31,200 | $45,950 | $30,555 | $30,567 |
| New Mexico | 750 | $37,150 | $29,240 | $45,010 | $31,400 | $34,052 |
| Maryland | 3,250 | $36,800 | $31,840 | $44,540 | $30,367 | $28,932 |
| New York | 18,300 | $35,550 | $32,240 | $46,550 | $29,237 | $27,091 |
| Maine | 1,120 | $35,360 | $32,150 | $41,600 | $29,582 | $30,481 |
| Oklahoma | 760 | $35,130 | $25,290 | $36,270 | $29,372 | $33,436 |
| Michigan | 2,560 | $34,510 | $26,750 | $43,180 | $28,693 | $29,821 |
| Florida | 5,050 | $34,240 | $31,450 | $37,260 | $29,692 | $28,712 |
| Iowa | 1,160 | $34,090 | $24,960 | $46,650 | $28,928 | $32,962 |
| Montana | Not published | $33,240 | $29,890 | $36,310 | $28,083 | $29,672 |
| South Dakota | 2,000 | $32,380 | $27,950 | $46,440 | $28,197 | $31,830 |
| New Hampshire | 2,320 | $32,330 | $24,140 | $49,020 | $28,157 | $27,031 |
| Minnesota | 870 | $32,150 | $23,150 | $44,460 | $26,970 | $27,347 |
| Kentucky | 650 | $31,840 | $22,860 | $44,880 | $26,767 | $29,688 |
| North Carolina | 3,170 | $31,290 | $23,350 | $38,210 | $26,582 | $28,181 |
| Virginia | 3,350 | $31,200 | $25,810 | $42,520 | $26,269 | $25,982 |
| Nebraska | 1,810 | $30,530 | $28,080 | $41,430 | $26,169 | $29,044 |
| Arkansas | 160 | $30,510 | $26,000 | $37,140 | $26,054 | $29,968 |
| Tennessee | 2,510 | $30,210 | $22,880 | $39,240 | $26,454 | $28,795 |
| South Carolina | 900 | $29,640 | $22,670 | $34,480 | $25,704 | $27,418 |
| Ohio | 6,000 | $29,290 | $22,260 | $38,620 | $25,359 | $27,335 |
| Mississippi | 1,890 | $28,180 | $19,200 | $35,250 | $24,421 | $28,085 |
| Wisconsin | 2,270 | $28,130 | $22,550 | $39,080 | $24,270 | $25,793 |
| West Virginia | 620 | $27,440 | $20,120 | $36,210 | $23,560 | $26,325 |
| Kansas | 640 | $27,400 | $24,110 | $36,570 | $23,413 | $25,995 |
| Georgia | 3,870 | $26,870 | $21,430 | $41,010 | $23,145 | $24,036 |
| Louisiana | 1,990 | $26,260 | $19,690 | $40,530 | $22,834 | $25,886 |
| Texas | 7,540 | $25,320 | $21,850 | $36,320 | $22,461 | $23,142 |
| Guam | 40 | $23,080 | $22,360 | $28,400 | — | — |
| Puerto Rico | 1,640 | $22,500 | $21,840 | $23,350 | — | — |
| Alabama | Not published | $22,330 | $20,500 | $31,220 | $19,178 | $21,592 |
| Indiana | 2,940 | $21,940 | $20,760 | $36,260 | $19,060 | $20,422 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,510 | $19,910 | $17,150 | $40,460 | $17,381 | $17,813 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-2015. *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.