Cook Salary

Q: How much does a Cook make?

Cooks make $31,803 per year on average, or $15.29 per hour, in the United States. Cooks on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $25,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $40,000. Location impacts how much a cook can expect to make. Cooks make the most in Hawaii, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, and New York.

Q: Do line cooks make good money?

No, most line cooks do not make good money. The average pay for a line cook is around $12 an hour. If you have earned a degree or have a background in culinary school, you can earn up to $18 an hour as a line cook.

Q: How much does a professional cook make a year?

A professional cook makes around $32,000 a year. Your salary as a cook will vary due to many factors, some within your control while others are not. Differences in Salary Include: Location Type of establishment Experience Education Specific responsibilities

Q: Where do cooks get paid the most?

Cooks get paid the most in the North and Northwest states. The Top Highest-Paying States For Cooks: Wyoming at $33,000 Minnesota at $32,000 Washington at $32,000 Delaware at $32,000 Michigan at $31,000

Updated August 22, 2022

Average Cook Salary

$15.29hourly

$31,803 yearly

Entry level Salary

$25,000 yearly

$25,000

10 %

$31,803

Median

$40,000

90 %

How much does a Cook make?

Cooks make $31,803 per year on average, or $15.29 per hour, in the United States. Cooks on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $25,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $40,000.

Location impacts how much a cook can expect to make. Cooks make the most in Hawaii, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, and New York.

Highest Paying States For Cooks

The darker areas on the map show where cooks earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

State View
County View

Average Salary:

Cook average salary by State

Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	Hawaii	$44,295	$21.30	109
2	Connecticut	$35,991	$17.30	505
3	Nevada	$33,011	$15.87	416
4	Washington	$36,804	$17.69	843
5	New Jersey	$37,026	$17.80	1,014
6	Massachusetts	$36,549	$17.57	1,045
7	New Hampshire	$35,492	$17.06	189
8	Minnesota	$33,535	$16.12	1,093
9	Arizona	$30,480	$14.65	1,542
10	New York	$36,236	$17.42	1,669
11	Vermont	$35,225	$16.94	75
12	California	$35,925	$17.27	4,300
13	Michigan	$30,431	$14.63	1,561
14	Maine	$33,797	$16.25	148
15	Colorado	$31,042	$14.92	1,373
16	Oregon	$33,951	$16.32	480
17	Pennsylvania	$30,693	$14.76	1,912
18	Illinois	$31,121	$14.96	2,097
19	Rhode Island	$33,277	$16.00	131
20	Delaware	$32,066	$15.42	166
21	Florida	$28,804	$13.85	4,400
22	Alaska	$29,681	$14.27	177
23	Ohio	$28,477	$13.69	1,950
24	Wisconsin	$29,602	$14.23	908
25	North Dakota	$29,754	$14.30	130
26	District of Columbia	$35,312	$16.98	95
27	Utah	$28,848	$13.87	529
28	Tennessee	$25,967	$12.48	1,518
29	North Carolina	$27,257	$13.10	1,925
30	Indiana	$26,872	$12.92	1,469
31	Maryland	$31,887	$15.33	816
32	Wyoming	$27,476	$13.21	105
33	Virginia	$29,793	$14.32	1,387
34	South Dakota	$28,688	$13.79	130
35	Iowa	$27,561	$13.25	560
36	Idaho	$28,114	$13.52	246
37	Nebraska	$27,461	$13.20	314
38	Texas	$25,763	$12.39	5,425
39	New Mexico	$27,029	$12.99	371
40	South Carolina	$26,048	$12.52	907
41	Missouri	$25,785	$12.40	1,355
42	Kentucky	$25,289	$12.16	881
43	Georgia	$26,650	$12.81	1,858
44	Arkansas	$23,591	$11.34	752
45	Montana	$26,577	$12.78	190
46	Kansas	$23,414	$11.26	662
47	Alabama	$24,383	$11.72	854
48	Oklahoma	$23,081	$11.10	801
49	Louisiana	$23,280	$11.19	760
50	Mississippi	$21,950	$10.55	601
51	West Virginia	$23,234	$11.17	286

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Highest Paying Cities For Cooks

Rank	City	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
1	Seattle, WA	$37,003	$17.79
2	San Francisco, CA	$36,696	$17.64
3	Boston, MA	$36,587	$17.59
4	New York, NY	$36,239	$17.42
5	Washington, DC	$35,335	$16.99
6	Portland, ME	$33,922	$16.31
7	Portland, OR	$33,804	$16.25
8	Saint Paul, MN	$33,515	$16.11
9	Las Vegas, NV	$32,833	$15.79
10	Baltimore, MD	$32,072	$15.42
11	Chicago, IL	$31,331	$15.06
12	Denver, CO	$31,009	$14.91
13	Philadelphia, PA	$30,892	$14.85
14	Phoenix, AZ	$30,519	$14.67
15	Washington, UT	$29,800	$14.33

Here Are The Five Most In Demand Cities Right Now:

Cook Salary Details

Average Cook Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

Average Cook Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a Cook's Salary?

Percentile	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate
90th Percentile	$40,000	$3,333	$19
75th Percentile	$35,000	$2,917	$17
Average	$31,803	$2,650	$15
25th Percentile	$28,000	$2,333	$13
10th Percentile	$25,000	$2,083	$12

Average Salary By Related Titles

Job Title	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
Line Cook, Prep Cook	$32,982	$2,748	$15.86	164,756
Line Cook/Dishwasher	$34,435	$2,870	$16.56	133,370
Prep Cook/Dishwasher	$31,687	$2,641	$15.23	126,351
Mexican Food Cook	$31,039	$2,587	$14.92	275,588
Short Order Cook	$30,734	$2,561	$14.78	176,187
Cook/Dishwasher	$31,703	$2,642	$15.24	133,000

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

Which Companies Pay Cooks The Most?

The highest paying companies for cooks are University of California, Berkeley and Kemps according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, companies like University of Massachusetts Boston and ZS report highly competitive wages for cooks.

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	University of California, Berkeley	$40,923	$19.67
2	Kemps	$40,839	$19.63
3	University of Massachusetts Boston	$40,784	$19.61	11
4	ZS	$40,223	$19.34
5	Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics	$39,711	$19.09
6	Columbia University in the City of New York	$39,679	$19.08	2
7	Uline	$39,241	$18.87	9
8	Aspen Snowmass	$39,101	$18.80	25
9	Bertucci's	$39,083	$18.79	197
10	National Pancake House	$38,501	$18.51	42
11	Palmetto	$38,470	$18.50	9
12	University of California	$38,437	$18.48	51
13	State Bar of Michigan	$38,413	$18.47	19
14	On The Border	$38,386	$18.45	172
15	Kohler Co.	$38,240	$18.38	19
16	J.F. Shea Co	$38,040	$18.29	34
17	Zoës Kitchen	$38,016	$18.28	149
18	Marquis Companies	$37,941	$18.24	23
19	UC Santa Barbara	$37,783	$18.16
20	Resorts World Catskills	$37,761	$18.15	5

How Much Do Cooks Make In Different Industries?

Cook salaries can vary depending on the industry. In fact, our data shows that the government, health care, and retail industries tend to offer much higher salaries for cooks. For example, cooks make a whopping average salary of $34,114 while working in the government industry. Meanwhile, other people in this field are making $32,562 in the health care industry and $30,606 in the retail industry.

Cooks may want to avoid working in the hospitality industry as it offers the lowest average salary of $27,814.

Highest Paying Industries For Cooks

Rank	Industry	Average Salary	Hourly Rate
1	Government	$34,114	$16.40
2	Health Care	$32,562	$15.65
3	Retail	$30,606	$14.71
4	Hospitality	$27,814	$13.37

High Paying Cook Jobs

Cook Salary Trends

The salary for a cook can vary depending on the years of experience that a person has, from entry level to senior level. Data on how experience level affects total compensation is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Cook Salary By Experience Level

Experience Level	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
Entry Level	$23,800	$11.46
Mid Level	$28,800	$13.85
Senior Level	$34,200	$16.45

Average Cook Salary Over Time

Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Cook Salary By Year

Year	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	% Change
2022	$31,800	$15.29	+3.5%
2021	$30,700	$14.75	+4.5%
2020	$29,300	$14.08	+5.1%
2019	$27,800	$13.37	+4.1%
2018	$26,700	$12.82	+4.3%

Recently Added Cook Salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date Added	Salary
Sodexo	Cook II	Mountlake Terrace, WA	07/26/2022	$52,175
Remote In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Cook-Heritage	Vicksburg, MS	07/26/2022	$22,227
The Salvation Army	Cook	Allentown, PA	07/26/2022	$27,131
Omni Hotels & Resorts	Broiler Cook 1	Broomfield, CO	07/26/2022	$45,914
Oakleaf Village of Raleigh	Cook	Hilliard, OH	07/26/2022	$33,392
Hallmark Management Services	Cook Opportunity at Wells College!	Aurora, NY	07/26/2022	$40,216
Remote In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Cook 1 Casual Dining	Kane, PA	07/26/2022	$33,392
Morrison Healthcare	Cook	Charleston, SC	07/26/2022	$29,218
Saint Luke's Health System Kansas City	Cook-Saint Luke's South PRN	Overland Park, KS	07/26/2022	$39,653
Morrison Healthcare	Cook	Huntersville, NC	07/26/2022	$34,436

Cook Salaries FAQs

What state pays Cooks the most?

Hawaii pays Cooks the most in the United States, with an average salary of $44,295 per year, or $21.30 per hour.

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a Cook?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a Cook if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in New Jersey you should be paid close to $37,026 per year.

What type of Cook gets paid the most?

Head Cook gets paid the most. Head Cook made a median salary of $44,412. The best-paid 10 percent make $52,000, while the lowest-paid 10 percent make $37,000.

What is a good starting salary for a Cook?

A good starting salary for a cook is $24,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a cook in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for cooks is $30,564, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a cook can vary by state.

Do line cooks make good money?

No, most line cooks do not make good money. The average pay for a line cook is around $12 an hour. If you have earned a degree or have a background in culinary school, you can earn up to $18 an hour as a line cook.

How much does a professional cook make a year?

A professional cook makes around $32,000 a year. Your salary as a cook will vary due to many factors, some within your control while others are not.

Differences in Salary Include:

Location
Type of establishment
Experience
Education
Specific responsibilities

What is the highest-paying cooking job?

Working as a private chef is the highest-paying cooking job. Private chefs make over $65,000 a year on average and are responsible for cooking in-house for their client(s).

Private chefs usually live on-site so that it's easy to provide multiple meals a day. Your daily job will more likely be less hectic than working in a commercial kitchen. You'll be familiar with your client(s) likes and dislikes, as well as food allergies and complications.

Where do cooks get paid the most?

Cooks get paid the most in the North and Northwest states.

The Top Highest-Paying States For Cooks:

Wyoming at $33,000
Minnesota at $32,000
Washington at $32,000
Delaware at $32,000
Michigan at $31,000

Have more questions? See all answers to common food preparation and restaurant questions.

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Updated August 22, 2022