Cooks, Fast Food in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Cooks, Fast Food pay in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC at a median of $27,550 per year ($13.25/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $30,890, the metro estimate is 11% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 2,650 cooks, fast food are employed across the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA in SOC 35-2011.

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton pay distribution spans from $21,810 at the 10th percentile to $34,310 at the 90th, a 1.6× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $22,640 and the 75th at $29,180, so half of Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton-based cooks, fast food earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide NC estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.