Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of prep cook salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest prep cook salary of $40,515
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Mississippi has the lowest prep cook salary of $21,322
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The national average salary for prep cooks is $32,292
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The national hourly pay for prep cooks is $15.53
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 prep cooks 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 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 prep cooks after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for prep cook salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Prep Cooks By State
| Rank | State | Average Prep Cook Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $40,515 | $32,000 | $50,000 |
| 2 | California | $37,212 | $29,000 | $47,000 |
| 3 | Hawaii | $36,736 | $29,000 | $46,000 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $36,658 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 5 | Oregon | $36,575 | $29,000 | $45,000 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $35,703 | $28,000 | $43,000 |
| 7 | New York | $35,498 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $34,856 | $27,000 | $43,000 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $34,360 | $27,000 | $43,000 |
| 10 | Wyoming | $34,022 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 11 | Illinois | $33,836 | $26,000 | $43,000 |
| 12 | Colorado | $33,723 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $33,420 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 14 | Alaska | $33,302 | $28,000 | $39,000 |
| 15 | Vermont | $33,295 | $27,000 | $40,000 |
| 16 | Idaho | $32,433 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 17 | Arizona | $32,232 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 18 | Nevada | $31,991 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 19 | North Dakota | $31,968 | $25,000 | $39,000 |
| 20 | Maine | $31,755 | $26,000 | $38,000 |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $31,755 | $25,000 | $39,000 |
| 22 | Delaware | $31,626 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 23 | Utah | $31,400 | $24,000 | $39,000 |
| 24 | Maryland | $31,077 | $24,000 | $39,000 |
| 25 | Nebraska | $30,748 | $24,000 | $39,000 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | $30,620 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $30,174 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 28 | New Mexico | $30,145 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 29 | Michigan | $29,332 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 30 | Montana | $29,137 | $23,000 | $36,000 |
| 31 | Indiana | $29,105 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 32 | Virginia | $28,692 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 33 | Ohio | $28,444 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 34 | South Dakota | $28,396 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 35 | Missouri | $28,141 | $21,000 | $36,000 |
| 36 | Iowa | $28,116 | $22,000 | $35,000 |
| 37 | Tennessee | $28,070 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 38 | Kansas | $27,920 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 39 | Florida | $27,042 | $20,000 | $35,000 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $26,603 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 41 | Louisiana | $26,488 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 42 | Texas | $26,261 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 43 | North Carolina | $26,153 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $25,933 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 45 | Arkansas | $25,755 | $19,000 | $33,000 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $25,128 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 47 | Georgia | $23,975 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 48 | West Virginia | $23,766 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 49 | Alabama | $22,487 | $17,000 | $28,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $21,322 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
Methodology: Prep Cook Salary By State
To better understand 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 prep cooks by state.
We took the average annual salary data for prep cooks from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for prep cooks.
Prep Cook Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for prep cooks?
The highest-paid state for prep cooks is Washington with an average salary of $40,515 per year.
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What city pays prep cooks the most?
Seattle, WA pays prep cooks the most with an average salary of $40,582 per year.
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What is the worst state for prep cooks?
The worst state for prep cooks is Mississippi with an average salary of $21,322 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.
