How Much Do Restaurant Cooks Make in 2021 (including Starting Salary)

Stan T.Career, SalaryLeave a Comment

Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries

Restaurant Cooks

Restaurant Cooks prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

Salary
$29530
Becoming One
Easy
Education
No degree required
Job Satisfaction
Low
Job Growth

Personality



Table of contents
  1. Average salary
  2. Starting salary
  3. Salary rank
  4. Salary range
  5. Highest paying states
  6. Highest paying industries

Average salary

Annual salary
$29530 per year
Hourly wage
$14 per hour

Starting salary

Entry-level annual salary
$20,100 to $24,210 per year
Entry-level hourly wage
$10 to $12 per hour

Entry-level Restaurant Cooks with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $20,100 to $24,210 per year or $10 to $12 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.

Salary rank

Salary rank
D

We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Restaurant Cooks to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.

Salary range

Level Hourly Annual
Highest (Top 10%) $19 $39,840
Senior (Top 25%) $16 $33,550
Middle (Mid 50%) $14 $28,800
Junior (Bottom 25%) $12 $24,210
No experience (Bottom 10%) $10 $20,100

Highest paying states

State Hourly Annual
DC $18 $37,040
HI $18 $36,960
WA $17 $35,800
MA $17 $35,120
NJ $17 $35,070
NY $17 $34,510
VT $17 $34,410
CT $16 $34,250
CA $16 $34,230
ME $16 $33,240

Another simple way to increase your salary as a Restaurant Cook is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.

According to BLS, the highest paid Restaurant Cooks are in the states of DC, HI, WA, MA and NJ.

Highest paying industries

Salary by industry Annual Hourly
Other Food Manufacturing $48040 $23.10
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores $38270 $18.40
Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities $36700 $17.64
Grantmaking and Giving Services $35600 $17.11
Traveler Accommodation $33840 $16.27
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water $33740 $16.22
Vocational Rehabilitation Services $33610 $16.16
Rooming and Boarding Houses $33480 $16.09
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals $33460 $16.09
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods $33430 $16.07
Animal Slaughtering and Processing $33270 $15.99
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events $33150 $15.94
Clothing Stores $33050 $15.89
Special Food Services $32730 $15.73
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations $32660 $15.70
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly $32110 $15.44
Spectator Sports $32080 $15.42
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools $32060 $15.41
Food and Beverage Stores $31910 $15.34
Outpatient Care Centers $31810 $15.29
General Merchandise Stores $31810 $15.29
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries $31530 $15.16
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores $31270 $15.03
Management of Companies and Enterprises $30840 $14.83
Amusement Parks and Arcades $30820 $14.82
Gambling Industries $30760 $14.79
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) $30640 $14.73
Real Estate $30420 $14.62
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions $30380 $14.61
Land Subdivision $30370 $14.60

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