Restaurant cook pay, for employers
What cooks earn, from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) medians, what one costs to employ, how the job is paid and whether overtime is owed.
Restaurant cook pay at a glance
- Median a year
- $37,390
- Median an hour
- $17.98
- BLS period
- May 2025
- Federal overtime
- Owed after 40 hours
What cooks earn
- National median
- $37,390 a year, $17.98 an hour (May 2025)BLS occupation: Cooks, Restaurant (SOC 35-2014).Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Cooks, Restaurant, all industries: annual median, series OEUN000000000000035201413 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Cooks, Restaurant, all industries: hourly median, series OEUN000000000000035201408 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- What the median covers
- BLS medians include base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips.They leave out overtime pay; severance pay; shift differentials; nonproduction bonuses; employer cost for supplementary benefits; and tuition reimbursements.The annual figure is the hourly median times 2,080 hours.Source: BLS, May 2025 OEWS Estimates: technical notes (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated August 30, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Median pay by state
BLS medians for cooks in each state and DC, May 2025.
| State | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $32,180 | $15.47 |
| Alaska | $40,140 | $19.30 |
| Arizona | $38,670 | $18.59 |
| Arkansas | $30,180 | $14.51 |
| California | $44,880 | $21.58 |
| Colorado | $41,600 | $20.00 |
| Connecticut | $39,480 | $18.98 |
| Delaware | $37,840 | $18.19 |
| District of Columbia | $46,130 | $22.18 |
| Florida | $37,020 | $17.80 |
| Georgia | $35,940 | $17.28 |
| Hawaii | $45,420 | $21.84 |
| Idaho | $36,440 | $17.52 |
| Illinois | $37,580 | $18.07 |
| Indiana | $35,170 | $16.91 |
| Iowa | $35,670 | $17.15 |
| Kansas | $35,130 | $16.89 |
| Kentucky | $34,640 | $16.65 |
| Louisiana | $29,050 | $13.97 |
| Maine | $45,290 | $21.78 |
| Maryland | $37,820 | $18.19 |
| Massachusetts | $45,600 | $21.92 |
| Michigan | $36,980 | $17.78 |
| Minnesota | $38,590 | $18.55 |
| Mississippi | $29,560 | $14.21 |
| Missouri | $36,940 | $17.76 |
| Montana | $38,060 | $18.30 |
| Nebraska | $37,030 | $17.81 |
| Nevada | $38,610 | $18.56 |
| New Hampshire | $40,200 | $19.33 |
| New Jersey | $38,460 | $18.49 |
| New Mexico | $35,020 | $16.84 |
| New York | $43,680 | $21.00 |
| North Carolina | $35,400 | $17.02 |
| North Dakota | $36,470 | $17.53 |
| Ohio | $35,540 | $17.09 |
| Oklahoma | $31,720 | $15.25 |
| Oregon | $43,100 | $20.72 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,580 | $17.59 |
| Rhode Island | $36,510 | $17.55 |
| South Carolina | $35,740 | $17.18 |
| South Dakota | $36,220 | $17.42 |
| Tennessee | $36,420 | $17.51 |
| Texas | $34,760 | $16.71 |
| Utah | $36,490 | $17.55 |
| Vermont | $45,390 | $21.82 |
| Virginia | $36,750 | $17.67 |
| Washington | $46,800 | $22.50 |
| West Virginia | $29,590 | $14.23 |
| Wisconsin | $36,550 | $17.57 |
| Wyoming | $36,830 | $17.71 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates (oesm25st.zip) (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated October 4, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
What one costs to employ
The national median as the year's gross wages, plus your Social Security, Medicare and FUTA. Enter your state unemployment rate and wage base, workers' comp rate, benefits and overhead for your own figure.
One year: a restaurant cook at the national median, $37,390 (BLS, May 2025)
Employer cost of one employee for calendar year 2026: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to $184,500 (2026), 1.45% Medicare, and FUTA at 0.6% of the first $7,000 a year with the full 5.4% credit, plus the state unemployment, workers’ compensation, benefits, and overhead you enter, with all wages subject to FICA and FUTA. It leaves out credit reduction states, pay that FICA or FUTA excludes, such as your health plan contributions, and how the cost spreads across pay periods. Other cases and state law can change the result.
State unemployment rates and wage bases: Payroll tax rates by state
How cooks are paid
Each way of paying the job, with the federal rule for its regular rate and overtime. Where the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook says how the job is paid, its words are quoted.
- Hourly
- Paid by the hour. When the hourly rate is the only pay, it is the regular rate, and each hour over 40 in the workweek earns half that rate on top.Source: 29 CFR 778.110 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Overtime
- Owed after 40 hours
- Owed: cooks doing routine kitchen work are not learned professionals, so hours over 40 earn time and a half.Federal rule only: a state's overtime law can require more.Source: 29 CFR 541.301 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; 29 U.S.C. 207 (opens in a new tab)
Industry and workers' comp
- HCM industry
- Restaurants: Multi-location hospitality
- Workers' comp class codes
- Class codes that commonly cover cooks, on Worklio Insurance. The class depends on your business and the manual filed in your state.9082 Restaurants9083 Fast food restaurants9058 Hotel restaurant staffAll class codes on Worklio Insurance
WORKLIO HCM
Run payroll for cooks in Worklio HCM
Payroll, tax, HR, time, and benefits administration run on one 50-state engine, for companies with 50 to 50,000+ employees. Approve once: hours flow in from time tracking, deductions from benefits, and every pay run posts taxes, filings, comp premiums and the general ledger automatically. For restaurants: tip pooling and reporting, with allocations imported from POS, tip credit rules with minimum wage checks by state, and the FICA tip credit reported.
Other jobs
- Restaurant server$35,230 a year
- Bartender$34,340 a year
- All 41 jobs
Sources
The data series, regulation or document behind each figure and rule, as checked.
- BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Cooks, Restaurant, all industries: annual median, series OEUN000000000000035201413 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Cooks, Restaurant, all industries: hourly median, series OEUN000000000000035201408 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- BLS, May 2025 OEWS Estimates: technical notes (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated August 30, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates (oesm25st.zip) (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated October 4, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- 29 CFR 778.110 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- 29 CFR 541.301 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- 29 U.S.C. 207 (opens in a new tab)
- Worklio Insurance: workers' comp class codes (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for how you classify and pay each employee.