The salary statistics of cooks and food preparation workers are shown in Table 1. The average hourly salary of cooks and food preparation workers in the United States is shown in Table 2. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of cooks and food preparation workers within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The cooks and food preparation workers annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $21,930 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $26,650 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $30,590 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $36,000 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $42,140 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for cooks and food preparation workers. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) cooks and food preparation workers is $42,140. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $30,590. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $21,930. Take note that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 92% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of cooks and food preparation workers from 2012 to 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 10-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $30,590 | 4.87% | 34.32% |
| 2021 | $29,100 | 6.98% | - |
| 2020 | $27,070 | 4.36% | - |
| 2019 | $25,890 | 4.36% | - |
| 2018 | $24,760 | 4.60% | - |
| 2017 | $23,620 | 4.91% | - |
| 2016 | $22,460 | 5.12% | - |
| 2015 | $21,310 | 3.05% | - |
| 2014 | $20,660 | 1.55% | - |
| 2013 | $20,340 | 1.23% | - |
| 2012 | $20,090 | - | - |
The average salaries of cooks and food preparation workers in 20 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2. We note that the salaries vary considerably within different industry sectors. The highest paying industry sector for cooks and food preparation workers occupations is the finance and insurance sector with an annual salary $45,980. The lowest paying sector is the transportation and warehousing sector (annual salary $29,920).
The average annual salary of cooks and food preparation worker related occupations at the national level is given in Table 3. For more salary information about a specific occupation, use the links below.
| Occupation | Median Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Private Household Cooks | |
| Restaurant Cooks | |
| All Other Cooks | |
| Institution and Cafeteria Cooks | |
| Cooks | |
| Short Order Cooks | |
| Food Preparation Workers | |
| Fast Food Cooks |