Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of line cook, prep cook salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest line cook, prep cook salary of $42,190
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Mississippi has the lowest line cook, prep cook salary of $23,502
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The national average salary for line cooks, prep cook is $32,982
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The national hourly pay for line cooks, prep cook is $15.86
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 line cooks, prep cook 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 line cook, prep cook 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 line cooks, prep cook after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for line cook, prep cook salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Line Cooks, Prep Cook By State
| Rank | State | Average Line Cook, Prep Cook Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $42,190 | $34,000 | $52,000 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $39,377 | $32,000 | $47,000 |
| 3 | New York | $37,902 | $30,000 | $47,000 |
| 4 | Alaska | $37,408 | $31,000 | $43,000 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $37,296 | $29,000 | $46,000 |
| 6 | Oregon | $37,074 | $29,000 | $46,000 |
| 7 | Colorado | $36,829 | $29,000 | $46,000 |
| 8 | California | $36,620 | $29,000 | $45,000 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $36,291 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 10 | Vermont | $35,920 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $35,754 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $35,523 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 13 | Wyoming | $35,415 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $35,316 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 15 | Maine | $34,309 | $27,000 | $42,000 |
| 16 | North Dakota | $33,790 | $27,000 | $42,000 |
| 17 | Illinois | $33,575 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $33,558 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 19 | Idaho | $33,229 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 20 | Nebraska | $33,037 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 21 | Delaware | $33,011 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 22 | Nevada | $32,809 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 23 | Arizona | $32,766 | $25,000 | $41,000 |
| 24 | Maryland | $32,614 | $25,000 | $41,000 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | $32,078 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 26 | Montana | $31,709 | $25,000 | $39,000 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $31,533 | $24,000 | $39,000 |
| 28 | New Mexico | $31,394 | $24,000 | $39,000 |
| 29 | Indiana | $31,011 | $24,000 | $39,000 |
| 30 | Utah | $30,673 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 31 | Texas | $30,548 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 32 | Missouri | $30,423 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 33 | Florida | $30,340 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 34 | Michigan | $30,245 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 35 | Kansas | $30,113 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 36 | South Dakota | $29,946 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 37 | Ohio | $29,907 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 38 | Iowa | $29,871 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 39 | Louisiana | $29,390 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $28,939 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 41 | North Carolina | $28,822 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 42 | Alabama | $28,680 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $28,121 | $22,000 | $35,000 |
| 44 | Georgia | $28,015 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 45 | Kentucky | $27,980 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 46 | Tennessee | $27,338 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $27,171 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 48 | Virginia | $27,063 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 49 | West Virginia | $25,267 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $23,502 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
Methodology: Line Cook, Prep Cook Salary By State
To better understand line cook, prep cook 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 line cooks, prep cook by state.
We took the average annual salary data for line cooks, prep cook from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for line cooks, prep cook.
Line Cook, Prep Cook Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for line cooks, prep cook?
The highest-paid state for line cooks, prep cook is Washington with an average salary of $42,190 per year.
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What city pays line cooks, prep cook the most?
Seattle, WA pays line cooks, prep cook the most with an average salary of $42,326 per year.
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What is the worst state for line cooks, prep cook?
The worst state for line cooks, prep cook is Mississippi with an average salary of $23,502 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.
