Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of cook/server salary by state for the United States:
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Alaska has the highest cook/server salary of $40,354
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Alabama has the lowest cook/server salary of $21,185
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The national average salary for cook/servers is $29,716
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The national hourly pay for cook/servers is $14.29
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do cook/servers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for cook/server by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for cook/servers after this adjustment? That would be Alaska.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for cook/server salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Cook/servers By State
| Rank | State | Average Cook/server Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $40,354 | $35,000 | $45,000 |
| 2 | Washington | $36,560 | $29,000 | $45,000 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $35,142 | $28,000 | $43,000 |
| 4 | Oregon | $35,010 | $27,000 | $44,000 |
| 5 | North Dakota | $34,389 | $28,000 | $41,000 |
| 6 | California | $33,579 | $25,000 | $43,000 |
| 7 | Maine | $32,725 | $27,000 | $39,000 |
| 8 | Vermont | $32,530 | $26,000 | $39,000 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $32,483 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $32,338 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 11 | South Dakota | $32,228 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | $32,016 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 13 | New York | $31,528 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $31,317 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 15 | New Hampshire | $31,180 | $25,000 | $38,000 |
| 16 | Idaho | $30,376 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 17 | Montana | $29,791 | $24,000 | $36,000 |
| 18 | Illinois | $29,489 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 19 | Wyoming | $29,422 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $29,412 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 21 | Utah | $29,348 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 22 | Michigan | $29,211 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 23 | Maryland | $29,179 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 24 | Rhode Island | $28,860 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 25 | Nebraska | $27,595 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 26 | Colorado | $27,456 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 27 | Ohio | $27,269 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 28 | Nevada | $27,249 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 29 | Missouri | $27,014 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 30 | Arizona | $26,775 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 31 | Iowa | $26,623 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 32 | Indiana | $26,373 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 33 | Hawaii | $26,292 | $22,000 | $31,000 |
| 34 | Delaware | $25,825 | $19,000 | $33,000 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $25,138 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 36 | Virginia | $25,054 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 37 | Kentucky | $24,815 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 38 | New Mexico | $24,703 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 39 | Kansas | $24,494 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 40 | Texas | $24,426 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $24,275 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $23,819 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $23,436 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 44 | Mississippi | $22,670 | $17,000 | $29,000 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $22,499 | $17,000 | $28,000 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $21,598 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
| 47 | Georgia | $21,590 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
| 48 | Florida | $21,404 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
| 49 | North Carolina | $21,377 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
| 50 | Alabama | $21,185 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
Methodology: Cook/server Salary By State
To better understand cook/server pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for cook/servers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for cook/servers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for cook/servers.
Cook/server Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for cook/servers?
The highest-paid state for cook/servers is Alaska with an average salary of $40,354 per year.
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What city pays cook/servers the most?
Bellingham, WA pays cook/servers the most with an average salary of $36,775 per year.
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What is the worst state for cook/servers?
The worst state for cook/servers is Alabama with an average salary of $21,185 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
