Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 35-2011

Cooks, Fast Food

About 82,100 projected annual openings shape how to read Cooks, Fast Food against Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers, Cooks, Short Order, Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Cooks, Fast Food: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria ($37K) , Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers ($34K) , Cooks, Short Order ($36K) , Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other ($36K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Cooks, Fast Food publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 35-2011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Order and take delivery of supplies
  2. 2. Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously
  3. 3. Prepare specialty foods, such as pizzas, fish and chips, sandwiches, or tacos, following specific methods that usually require short prep…
  4. 4. Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles
  5. 5. Wash, cut, and prepare foods designated for cooking
  6. 6. Prepare and serve beverages, such as coffee or fountain drinks
  7. 7. Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils
  8. 8. Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions
  9. 9. Serve orders to customers at windows, counters, or tables
  10. 10. Clean, stock, and restock workstations and display cases
  11. 11. Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas
  12. 12. Cook and package batches of food, such as hamburgers or fried chicken, prepared to order or kept warm until sold

Cooks, Fast Food: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 35-2011 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.0 ; lead knowledge Administration and Management. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.0
  2. 2. Service Orientation 3.0
  3. 3. Speaking 2.8
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 2.8
  5. 5. Coordination 2.8
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 2.6
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 2.6
  8. 8. Monitoring 2.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Administration and Management 3.3
  2. 2. Transportation 3.3
  3. 3. Communications and Media 3.2
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 3.1
  5. 5. Public Safety and Security 3.1
  6. 6. English Language 3.1
Projected annual openings
82,100
growth + transfers + exits
National median $30,890/yr
$31K
National median
↓ -14%
Growth 2024-2034
641,070
Estimated US jobs
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Highest-pay peer · $37K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Cooks, Fast Food

1. Colorado $36,900
2. California $42,050
3. Hawaii $48,120
4. District of Columbia $44,670
5. Washington $39,120
6. Vermont $38,230
7. Oregon $37,880
8. Maine $36,350
9. Massachusetts $37,870
10. New Hampshire $38,590

Other Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Cooks, Short Order $35,880
  2. 2. Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other $35,840
  3. 3. Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria $37,450
  4. 4. Food Preparation Workers $35,320
  5. 5. Waiters and Waitresses $35,230
  6. 6. Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers $33,980

Roughly 82,100 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Cooks, Fast Food. Median pay is $30,890 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations.

Employment Projections expect -14% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Colorado at $36,900. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria at $37,450. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Cooks, Fast Food pay-rank #17 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

On the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations median table (17 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Cooks, Fast Food lands at #17, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 35-2011 · national median $30,890 · lower third of Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (#17/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Cooks, Fast Food salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 35-2011

Colorado · top state for Cooks, Fast Food

$37K published median

California · #2 state pay

$42K · behind Colorado

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

Highest-pay peer vs Cooks, Fast Food · $37K

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers

Lower-pay peer beside Cooks, Fast Food · $34K

Compare Cooks, Fast Food

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
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Openings and labor-flow next reads

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Cooks, Fast Food land on the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations median table? ▼
Cooks, Fast Food is pay-rank #17 of 17 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Fast Food and Counter Workers ($31K), Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop ($31K), Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers ($34K), Bartenders ($34K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do cooks, fast food do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Cooks, Fast Food. Leading ones include: Order and take delivery of supplies; Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously; Prepare specialty foods, such as pizzas, fish and chips, sandwiches, or tacos, following specific methods that usually require short prep…; Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for cooks, fast food? ▼
For SOC 35-2011, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.0), Service Orientation (3.0), Speaking (2.8), Social Perceptiveness (2.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Administration and Management, Transportation, Communications and Media. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Cooks, Fast Food? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $30,890 as the national median for Cooks, Fast Food. The published 10th-90th range is $22,580 to $42,910. Beside Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria ($37,450), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Cooks, Fast Food? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Cooks, Fast Food is -14%. Projected annual openings: about 82,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Cooks, Fast Food? ▼
Colorado ($36,900), California ($42,050), Hawaii ($48,120) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Cooks, Fast Food card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 35-2011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Cooks, Fast Food. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics