BLS metro-level wage data places Cooks, Short Order pay in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX at a median of $25,720 per year ($12.36/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $35,880, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands pays 28% below, which typically tracks with a lower local cost of living or smaller specialized-employer cluster. Approximately 1,500 cooks, short orders are employed across the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands MSA in SOC 35-2015.

The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands pay distribution spans from $23,440 at the 10th percentile to $36,320 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 $23,570 and the 75th at $29,030, so half of Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands-based cooks, short orders 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, 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.