Cooks, Restaurant
The national median wage for cooks, restaurant is $33,740 across 1.5M jobs. After cost of living, San Francisco goes furthest at $49,551, and 40 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $55,993 | $49,551 | 10,922 | 24.3 |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $53,139 | $49,203 | 34,339 | 25.0 |
| 3 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $41,126 | $40,719 | 13,809 | 23.0 |
| 4 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $43,688 | $40,081 | 12,624 | 25.0 |
| 5 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $41,091 | $39,511 | 2,542 | 25.0 |
| 6 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $38,119 | $38,897 | 9,725 | 25.0 |
| 7 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $41,480 | $38,407 | 14,103 | 25.0 |
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $37,629 | $38,397 | 12,702 | 23.1 |
| 9 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $35,213 | $37,863 | 7,359 | 25.0 |
| 10 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $36,489 | $37,618 | 8,320 | 25.0 |
| 11 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $40,979 | $37,595 | 1,769 | 23.6 |
| 12 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $34,175 | $37,147 | 7,164 | 25.0 |
| 13 | Columbus, OH | OH | $34,004 | $36,961 | 6,576 | 25.0 |
| 14 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $34,734 | $36,951 | 3,793 | 25.0 |
| 15 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $36,337 | $36,704 | 1,513 | 25.0 |
| 16 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $34,033 | $36,595 | 4,053 | 25.0 |
| 17 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $35,478 | $36,575 | 24,299 | 25.0 |
| 18 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $36,779 | $36,415 | 7,371 | 24.6 |
| 19 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $33,411 | $36,316 | 6,009 | 25.0 |
| 20 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $35,879 | $36,241 | 23,861 | 25.0 |
| 21 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $33,700 | $35,851 | 8,831 | 22.1 |
| 22 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $36,562 | $35,845 | 1,123 | 22.5 |
| 23 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $34,709 | $35,782 | 23,316 | 25.0 |
| 24 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $32,863 | $35,721 | 5,035 | 25.0 |
| 25 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $31,635 | $35,545 | 2,691 | 25.0 |
| 26 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $31,856 | $35,396 | 4,378 | 25.0 |
| 27 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $34,126 | $35,181 | 17,183 | 25.0 |
| 28 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $36,520 | $35,115 | 3,792 | 25.0 |
| 29 | Madison, WI | WI | $32,583 | $35,035 | 2,225 | 25.0 |
| 30 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $35,311 | $34,961 | 4,966 | 25.0 |
| 31 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $35,767 | $34,725 | 11,990 | 21.8 |
| 32 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $39,162 | $34,657 | 32,572 | 25.0 |
| 33 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $33,394 | $34,427 | 7,122 | 25.0 |
| 34 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $32,315 | $34,378 | 5,832 | 23.3 |
| 35 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $30,790 | $34,211 | 2,867 | 25.0 |
| 36 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $32,498 | $34,208 | 4,386 | 25.0 |
| 37 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $35,803 | $34,098 | 6,933 | 25.0 |
| 38 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $30,520 | $33,911 | 3,008 | 25.0 |
| 39 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $31,151 | $33,860 | 4,432 | 22.2 |
| 40 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $35,093 | $33,743 | 7,851 | 25.0 |
| 41 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $31,002 | $33,698 | 3,216 | 21.4 |
| 42 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $29,536 | $33,564 | 2,389 | 23.9 |
| 43 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $37,462 | $33,152 | 9,347 | 25.0 |
| 44 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $29,756 | $33,062 | 3,522 | 25.0 |
| 45 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $29,041 | $33,001 | 3,479 | 25.0 |
| 46 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $28,602 | $32,876 | 2,157 | 25.0 |
| 47 | Boise City, ID | ID | $29,843 | $32,795 | 2,740 | 25.0 |
| 48 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $31,795 | $32,778 | 971 | 24.3 |
| 49 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $31,967 | $32,619 | 5,514 | 25.0 |
| 50 | Columbia, SC | SC | $30,216 | $32,490 | 2,265 | 25.0 |
| 51 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $32,806 | $32,481 | 3,436 | 22.9 |
| 52 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $32,756 | $32,432 | 14,895 | 25.0 |
| 53 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $28,495 | $32,381 | 1,770 | 23.6 |
| 54 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $33,964 | $32,347 | 1,736 | 25.0 |
| 55 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $29,947 | $32,201 | 1,769 | 23.6 |
| 56 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $28,307 | $32,167 | 5,219 | 25.0 |
| 57 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $28,265 | $32,119 | 827 | 20.7 |
| 58 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $31,018 | $31,977 | 936 | 25.0 |
| 59 | Billings, MT | MT | $28,633 | $31,814 | 539 | 21.6 |
| 60 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $35,936 | $31,802 | 6,205 | 25.0 |
| 61 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $29,831 | $31,735 | 2,276 | 22.8 |
| 62 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $32,495 | $31,549 | 6,730 | 22.4 |
| 63 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $28,702 | $31,541 | 319 | 21.3 |
| 64 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $29,039 | $31,225 | 2,791 | 25.0 |
| 65 | Richmond, VA | VA | $31,461 | $31,150 | 5,619 | 25.0 |
| 66 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $27,462 | $30,856 | 1,215 | 25.0 |
| 67 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $28,540 | $30,688 | 3,164 | 25.0 |
| 68 | Wichita, KS | KS | $27,607 | $30,674 | 1,214 | 24.3 |
| 69 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $31,260 | $30,350 | 4,438 | 25.0 |
| 70 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $29,140 | $30,041 | 5,727 | 22.9 |
| 71 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $30,175 | $29,876 | 2,936 | 25.0 |
| 72 | Jackson, MS | MS | $25,489 | $29,298 | 1,139 | 22.8 |
| 73 | Rochester, NY | NY | $31,604 | $29,263 | 3,068 | 25.0 |
| 74 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $33,023 | $29,224 | 12,926 | 25.0 |
| 75 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $29,874 | $29,004 | 8,462 | 25.0 |
| 76 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $30,577 | $28,312 | 3,443 | 25.0 |
| 77 | Charleston, WV | WV | $25,422 | $28,247 | 605 | 24.2 |
| 78 | El Paso, TX | TX | $26,234 | $27,045 | 2,264 | 25.0 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Cooks, Restaurant?
The national median annual wage for cooks, restaurant is $33,740, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do cooks, restaurant earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for cooks, restaurant are San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($49,551), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($49,203), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($40,719).
How many metro areas have data for cooks, restaurant?
We show wage and employment estimates for cooks, restaurant across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.