Highest-paying Cities for Restaurant Cooks

The top 100 highest paying cities for restaurant cooks (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of restaurant cooks in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $44,730, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington is the highest paying city for restaurant cooks. It is followed by San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (average annual salary $44,530). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of restaurant cooks in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Restaurant Cooks

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$44,730	$37,470	18,250
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$44,530	$37,310	6,660
3	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$44,310	$31,300	1,910
4	Napa, California	$42,560	$35,760	1,070
5	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$42,460	$36,180	21,050
6	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$40,110	$29,280	1,060
7	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$39,580	$36,120	2,250
8	Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$39,300	$29,420	730
9	Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$39,150	$29,820	990
10	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$38,600	$31,200	57,010
11	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$38,150	$35,660	510
12	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$38,050	$33,830	23,090
13	Anchorage, Alaska	$38,050	$30,150	1,130
14	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$38,020	$34,320	790
15	Salinas, California	$38,000	$34,280	1,780
16	Boulder, Colorado	$37,970	$31,270	2,310
17	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$37,890	$31,990	14,360
18	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$37,840	$34,170	1,960
19	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$37,820	$33,810	7,960
20	Olympia, Washington	$37,760	$35,090	930
21	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$37,680	$35,520	990
22	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$37,650	$30,220	1,900
23	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$37,620	$29,270	860
24	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$37,560	$30,850	1,110
25	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$37,520	$33,610	930
26	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$37,510	$30,680	3,440
27	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$37,380	$29,080	1,890
28	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$37,370	$30,450	500
29	Fairbanks, Alaska	$37,350	$30,050	190
30	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$37,350	$33,870	2,240
31	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$37,330	$31,780	1,060
32	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$37,300	$32,220	10,350
33	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$37,280	$27,500	2,120
34	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$37,150	$33,070	1,010
35	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Washington	$37,120	$34,210	670
36	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$37,080	$31,350	820
37	Ithaca, New York	$37,070	$30,420	340
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$37,060	$31,590	48,050
39	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$37,030	$29,170	17,130
40	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$37,010	$31,190	17,070
41	Ocean City, New Jersey	$36,950	$28,200	800
42	Walla Walla, Washington	$36,780	$31,280	240
43	Longview, Washington	$36,670	$32,760	290
44	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$36,660	$28,440	5,480
45	Hanford-Corcoran, California	$36,600	$31,660	270
46	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$36,600	$31,350	1,550
47	Bellingham, Washington	$36,580	$34,230	1,020
48	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$36,510	$30,380	2,540
49	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$36,490	$34,050	710
50	North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$36,490	$30,900	780
51	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$36,430	$28,150	3,070
52	Kingston, New York	$36,420	$29,340	610
53	Yuba City, California	$36,420	$30,580	360
54	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$36,300	$27,990	2,080
55	El Centro, California	$36,300	$29,710	330
56	Spokane, Washington	$36,290	$31,660	2,220
57	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$36,280	$29,370	3,320
58	Modesto, California	$36,240	$30,690	1,440
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$36,200	$28,880	24,810
60	Lewiston-Auburn, Maine	$36,180	$28,880	240
61	Stockton, California	$36,170	$30,720	1,360
62	Salt Lake City, Utah	$36,120	$23,660	5,020
63	Springfield, Massachusetts	$36,120	$30,370	2,570
64	Worcester, Massachusetts	$36,120	$30,610	2,170
65	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$36,100	$28,110	1,740
66	Northern New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$36,050	$29,270	560
67	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$36,010	$31,280	960
68	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$36,000	$32,960	1,320
69	Bangor, Maine	$36,000	$28,740	530
70	Madera-Chowchilla, California	$35,990	$30,400	290
71	Greeley, Colorado	$35,970	$27,040	920
72	Manchester, New Hampshire	$35,960	$28,600	890
73	West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$35,950	$29,120	1,050
74	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$35,930	$31,060	2,660
75	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$35,900	$27,970	3,760
76	Northeast Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$35,900	$30,290	500
77	Central East New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$35,900	$29,120	800
78	Salem, Oregon	$35,880	$29,390	1,240
79	Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, Massachusetts	$35,850	$30,370	500
80	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$35,840	$31,160	19,770
81	Yakima, Washington	$35,840	$31,970	620
82	New Bedford, Massachusetts	$35,840	$30,560	710
83	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$35,840	$30,770	15,360
84	Utica-Rome, New York	$35,790	$28,270	910
85	Grants Pass, Oregon	$35,770	$29,370	250
86	Pittsfield, Massachusetts	$35,740	$30,790	360
87	Syracuse, New York	$35,730	$28,790	1,830
88	Prescott, Arizona	$35,650	$29,370	960
89	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$35,650	$27,370	41,360
90	Rochester, Minnesota	$35,620	$27,520	1,020
91	Fresno, California	$35,600	$29,730	2,460
92	Naples-Marco Island, Florida	$35,590	$28,910	3,090
93	Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$35,560	$29,570	1,370
94	Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey	$35,550	$28,130	190
95	Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$35,500	$28,270	890
96	New Haven, Connecticut	$35,490	$27,680	2,120
97	Bend, Oregon	$35,480	$29,490	1,080
98	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$35,470	$27,850	21,620
99	Chico, California	$35,460	$29,760	700
100	South Florida nonmetropolitan area, Florida	$35,340	$28,190	1,640

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for restaurant cooks.