Cooks salary in the US

What do cooks actually earn, and how does that change with age, education and location? These figures come straight from Census survey microdata.

How much do cooks earn?

Half of all cooks in the United States earned more than $24,366 a year, and half earned less — 54% less than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. That ranks 162nd of 171 occupation groups, in the lowest-paid quarter of the list. The figures come from 69,613 survey records of people aged 25 and older with earnings in this occupation.

Cooks: annual earnings thresholds (nationwide)
Position	Annual earnings
Top 10% start at	$47,730
Top 25% start at	$35,682
Median (top 50%)	$24,366
Bottom 25% earn below	$13,809

How wide is the pay range?

The top 25% of cooks earn at least $35,682, and the top 10% start near $47,730 — about 2.0 times the median. The bottom quarter earned under $13,809; that group includes people who worked part of the year or reduced hours, since every earner is counted. That leaves a 1.8-to-1 ratio between the median and the 25th percentile.

Earnings by age

Typical pay rises 10% between the 25–34 and 45–54 age groups, topping out at $25,922. After the peak, the 65+ group's median falls to $18,275 (30% lower), largely because more older workers cut back their hours.

25–34

$23,461

35–44

$24,558

45–54

$25,922

55–64

$24,366

65+

$18,275

Men and women

There is a 23% gap at the median: $27,412 for men and $21,120 for women. About 50% of the sampled workers are women, going by raw survey counts. Differences in hours, specialty and seniority account for part of any gap, which the survey doesn't separate out.

Group	Median earnings	Survey records
Men	$27,412	34,534
Women	$21,120	35,079

Does education change the pay?

The spread by education is moderate — 10% between workers with a master's degree ($23,865) and those with a bachelor's degree ($26,237). The largest group in the sample has a high school education or less (47,190 records). Levels with fewer than 100 records are left out rather than estimated.

Education	Median earnings	Survey records
High school or less	$24,196	47,190
Some college / associate	$24,366	17,455
Bachelor's	$26,237	4,053
Master's	$23,865	702
Professional degree	$24,536	147
Doctorate	Not shown (<100 records)	66

Where the most work, and what they earn there

In terms of headcount in the survey, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois lead the country. The state medians range from $21,996 in Texas up to $29,385 in California. State figures aren't price-adjusted; 50 states have a large enough sample to report.

State	Median earnings	Survey records
California	$29,385	8,908
Texas	$21,996	6,384
Florida	$25,381	3,785
New York	$28,132	3,778
Illinois	$24,440	2,602

Occupations with similar pay

Occupations with a median close to $24,366 include teaching assistants ($24,366), manicurists and pedicurists ($24,440), personal care aides ($24,461), and waiters and waitresses ($23,865). Each of these takes a different path in, but a typical year's earnings lands in the same range.

Occupation	Median earnings	vs. this job
Teaching Assistants	$24,366	0%
Manicurists And Pedicurists	$24,440	0%
Personal Care Aides	$24,461	0%
Waiters and Waitresses	$23,865	−2%
Home Health Aides	$23,388	−4%

About these figures

How to read these numbers: they are annual personal earnings (wages plus self-employment income) for people aged 25+ who reported working as cooks, pooled over 2020–2024 and adjusted to 2024 dollars. Part-time and part-year workers are included. Every group shown has at least 100 survey records; 69,613 records sit behind the headline median.

See where your pay ranks among cooks

Opens the calculator with this occupation already selected. Your income stays in your browser — it's never put in the link.

Open the calculator

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted

Reference statistics only — not financial advice.