Cooks, Restaurant in the Warner Robins Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Cooks, Restaurant pay in Warner Robins, GA at a median of $32,180 per year ($15.47/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 14% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 780 cooks, restaurant are employed across the Warner Robins MSA in SOC 35-2014.

The Warner Robins pay distribution spans from $23,890 at the 10th percentile to $37,260 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 $28,670 and the 75th at $35,470, so half of Warner Robins-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 Warner Robins, GA 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 GA estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.