BLS metro-level wage data places Cooks, All Other pay in College Station-Bryan, TX at a median of $25,700 per year ($12.35/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $37,690, College Station-Bryan pays 32% below, which typically tracks with a lower local cost of living or smaller specialized-employer cluster. Approximately 50 cooks, all others are employed across the College Station-Bryan MSA in SOC 35-2019.

The College Station-Bryan pay distribution spans from $25,060 at the 10th percentile to $36,400 at the 90th — a 1.5× spread that reflects experience tenure, specialization, employer size, and the difference between public-sector, nonprofit, and private-sector compensation inside the metro. The 25th percentile sits at $25,200 and the 75th at $30,540, so half of College Station-Bryan-based cooks, all others earn within that middle band.

Metro figures capture where you actually work, not just where you live — which matters for commuters. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so College Station-Bryan, TX covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. Remember that OEWS wages reflect base pay only: employer-provided health insurance, retirement matches, stock options, signing bonuses, overtime, and tips are excluded and can add 20-40% to real total compensation. Before using this metro median as a negotiation anchor, triangulate against the same occupation's national profile (linked below), its state-wide TX data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.