Cooks, Restaurant in the Memphis Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Cooks, Restaurant pay in Memphis, TN-MS-AR at a median of $36,340 per year ($17.47/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $37,390, the metro estimate is 3% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 4,800 cooks, restaurant are employed across the Memphis MSA in SOC 35-2014.

The Memphis pay distribution spans from $27,030 at the 10th percentile to $44,560 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 $30,460 and the 75th at $38,930, so half of Memphis-based cooks, restaurant earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Memphis, TN-MS-AR 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 TN estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.