Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Occupation-level safety SOC 35-2014

Cooks, Restaurant

Occupation-specific BLS fatality and injury rates set the reading order for Cooks, Restaurant, then wages beside peers such as Cooks, Private Household, Cooks, Fast Food, Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other, Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Cooks, Restaurant: Cooks, Private Household ($48K) , Cooks, Fast Food ($31K) , Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other ($36K) , Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop ($31K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Cooks, Restaurant publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 35-2014 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters
  2. 2. Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling…
  3. 3. Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons
  4. 4. Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock
  5. 5. Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience
  6. 6. Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen staff
  7. 7. Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods
  8. 8. Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using various kitchen utensils and equipment
  9. 9. Turn or stir foods to ensure even cooking
  10. 10. Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with…
  11. 11. Substitute for or assist other cooks during emergencies or rush periods
  12. 12. Wash, peel, cut, and seed fruits and vegetables to prepare them for consumption

Cooks, Restaurant: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 35-2014 - lead skill Speaking at 3.0 ; lead knowledge Food Production. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 3.0
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 3.0
  3. 3. Monitoring 3.0
  4. 4. Time Management 3.0
  5. 5. Active Listening 2.9
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 2.8
  7. 7. Active Learning 2.8
  8. 8. Coordination 2.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Food Production 3.4
  2. 2. English Language 3.1
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 2.6
  4. 4. Production and Processing 2.3
  5. 5. Education and Training 2.2
  6. 6. Mathematics 2.1
Occupation safety grade
B
Safe
Transparent derived index from BLS CFOI/SOII, not an official BLS rating · formula
National median still $37,390/yr
$37K
National median
↑ +15%
Growth 2024-2034
250,700
Annual openings
1,409,890
Estimated US jobs
Cooks, Private Household
Highest-pay peer · $48K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Cooks, Restaurant

1. Maine $45,290
2. Vermont $45,390
3. Washington $46,800
4. New York $43,680
5. Oregon $43,100
6. Hawaii $45,420
7. District of Columbia $46,130
8. California $44,880
9. Massachusetts $45,600
10. Colorado $41,600

Other Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other $35,840
  2. 2. Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop $31,200
  3. 3. Cooks, Fast Food $30,890
  4. 4. Cooks, Short Order $35,880
  5. 5. Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria $37,450
  6. 6. Cooks, Private Household $47,940

Cooks, Restaurant carries an occupation-specific WageDex safety grade of B from BLS CFOI/SOII rates. The national OEWS median is $37,390 inside Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (SOC 35-2014).

Employment Projections expect +15% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 250,700 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Maine at $45,290. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cooks, Private Household at $47,940. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Cooks, Restaurant pay-rank #6 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

Among 17 detailed Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations with a published OEWS median, Cooks, Restaurant is pay-rank #6, 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 35-2014 · national median $37,390 · upper third of Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (#6/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Cooks, Restaurant salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 35-2014

Maine · top state for Cooks, Restaurant

$45K published median

Vermont · #2 state pay

$45K · behind Maine

Cooks, Private Household

Highest-pay peer vs Cooks, Restaurant · $48K

Cooks, Fast Food

Lower-pay peer beside Cooks, Restaurant · $31K

Compare Cooks, Restaurant

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Cooks, Restaurant with another occupation →

Safety and risk next reads

Safest Occupations

Roles with the strongest published safety grades

Cooks, Restaurant full wage map

State and metro pay after the safety lead

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles sit near Cooks, Restaurant at the top of the pay table? ▼
Cooks, Restaurant is pay-rank #6 of 17 detailed Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria ($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, restaurant do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Cooks, Restaurant. Leading ones include: Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters; Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling…; Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons; Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for cooks, restaurant? ▼
For SOC 35-2014, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (3.0), Critical Thinking (3.0), Monitoring (3.0), Time Management (3.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Food Production, English Language, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Cooks, Restaurant? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $37,390 as the national median for Cooks, Restaurant. The published 10th-90th range is $28,700 to $47,900. Beside Cooks, Private Household ($47,940), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Cooks, Restaurant? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Cooks, Restaurant is +15%. Projected annual openings: about 250,700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Cooks, Restaurant? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Cooks, Restaurant. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Cooks, Restaurant? ▼
Maine ($45,290), Vermont ($45,390), Washington ($46,800) 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, Restaurant card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 35-2014. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Cooks, Restaurant. 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