Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 35-2012

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

About 69,700 projected annual openings shape how to read Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria against Cooks, All Other, Cooks, Fast Food, Food Preparation Workers, Food Servers, Nonrestaurant.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria: Cooks, All Other ($38K) , Cooks, Fast Food ($31K) , Food Preparation Workers ($35K) , Food Servers, Nonrestaurant ($35K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 35-2012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety
  2. 2. Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served
  3. 3. Rotate and store food supplies
  4. 4. Wash pots, pans, dishes, utensils, or other cooking equipment
  5. 5. Apportion and serve food to facility residents, employees, or patrons
  6. 6. Clean and inspect galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas to ensure cleanliness and functional operation
  7. 7. Clean, cut, and cook meat, fish, or poultry
  8. 8. Monitor use of government food commodities to ensure that proper procedures are followed
  9. 9. Direct activities of one or more workers who assist in preparing and serving meals
  10. 10. Plan menus that are varied, nutritionally balanced, and appetizing, taking advantage of foods in season and local availability
  11. 11. Monitor menus and spending to ensure that meals are prepared economically
  12. 12. Compile and maintain records of food use and expenditures

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 35-2012 - lead skill Speaking at 3.1 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 3.1
  2. 2. Monitoring 3.1
  3. 3. Service Orientation 3.1
  4. 4. Operations Monitoring 3.1
  5. 5. Quality Control Analysis 3.1
  6. 6. Judgment and Decision Making 3.1
  7. 7. Active Listening 3.0
  8. 8. Critical Thinking 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 3.6
  2. 2. Food Production 3.6
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 3.6
  4. 4. Mathematics 3.5
  5. 5. Administration and Management 3.3
  6. 6. Production and Processing 3.1
Projected annual openings
69,700
growth + transfers + exits
National median $37,450/yr
$37K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
441,050
Estimated US jobs
Cooks, All Other
Highest-pay peer · $38K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

1. Massachusetts $47,790
2. California $46,390
3. Vermont $46,370
4. Rhode Island $46,570
5. Connecticut $46,120
6. New York $45,880
7. Washington $49,670
8. Hawaii $47,770
9. Alaska $48,580
10. District of Columbia $45,450

Other Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Cooks, Fast Food $30,890
  2. 2. Food Preparation Workers $35,320
  3. 3. Cooks, All Other $37,690
  4. 4. Food Servers, Nonrestaurant $35,360
  5. 5. Dishwashers $34,810
  6. 6. Waiters and Waitresses $35,230

Roughly 69,700 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria. Median pay is $37,450 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average 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: Massachusetts at $47,790. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cooks, All Other at $37,690. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria pay-rank #5 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

Among 17 detailed Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations with a published OEWS median, Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is pay-rank #5, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-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 35-2012 · national median $37,450 · upper third of Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (#5/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 35-2012

Massachusetts · top state for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

$48K published median

California · #2 state pay

$46K · behind Massachusetts

Cooks, All Other

Highest-pay peer vs Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria · $38K

Cooks, Fast Food

Lower-pay peer beside Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria · $31K

Compare Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

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

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Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles sit near Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria at the top of the pay table? ▼
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is pay-rank #5 of 17 detailed Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Cooks, Restaurant ($37K), Cooks, All Other ($38K), First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers ($44K), Cooks, Private Household ($48K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do cooks, institution and cafeteria do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria. Leading ones include: Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety; Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served; Rotate and store food supplies; Wash pots, pans, dishes, utensils, or other cooking equipment. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for cooks, institution and cafeteria? ▼
For SOC 35-2012, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (3.1), Monitoring (3.1), Service Orientation (3.1), Operations Monitoring (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Food Production, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $37,450 as the national median for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria. The published 10th-90th range is $28,480 to $49,670. Beside Cooks, All Other ($37,690), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 69,700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria? ▼
Massachusetts ($47,790), California ($46,390), Vermont ($46,370) 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, Institution and Cafeteria card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 35-2012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria. 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