Cooks, Fast Food Job Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects little or no change in employment of fast food cooks from 2025 to 2035 (+0.6%, about 3,600 more jobs), with about 86,400 openings a year, and the May 2025 median pay of $30,890 a year ranks 825th of 825 occupations.
- Little or no change
- +0.6%
- Openings a year
- 86,400
- Median pay
- $30,890
- Pay rank
- 825th of 825
Is employment of fast food cooks growing or shrinking?
Little or no change: BLS projects +0.6% employment change for fast food cooks from 2025 to 2035 (about 3,600 more jobs), slower than the 3.5% projected across all occupations. That is slower than the +4.4% summed from BLS's employment levels across the 17 food preparation and serving related occupations with a projection. That change ranks 574th of 830 projected occupations.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Employment, 2025 | 640,500 |
| Employment, 2035 | 644,100 |
| Projected change | +0.6% (little or no change) |
| Openings a year | 86,400 |
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035. A projection is a BLS estimate, not a count. The 640,500 jobs here differ from the 641,070 on the salary page because Employment Projections also counts the self-employed and a wider set of workers, while OEWS counts wage and salary jobs in May 2025. BLS published these projections on August 27, 2026; checked November 10, 2026. Confirm any figure in the BLS Employment Projections tables.
BLS's reasons for this projection are at the Occupational Outlook Handbook. State projections are at Projections Central; projections by industry are left to BLS. Education, licensing and work context at O*NET.
How many job openings are there each year?
About 86,400 openings a year, from job growth and from workers leaving the occupation, the 46th most of 830 occupations. Nearly all of them replace workers who change occupations or leave the labor force; the rest come from the 360 jobs added in an average year.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
How does pay for fast food cooks rank?
The median of $30,890 a year ranks 825th of 825 occupations with a published median. It sits in the upper half of occupations on openings and the lower half on pay.
Source: BLS OEWS national file, May 2025. Wage and salary jobs only; the self-employed are not counted. OEWS pay excludes overtime, shift differentials and non-production bonuses. Ranks count only the occupations with that published figure: 830 for projected change, 830 for openings, 825 for median pay, which is why the totals differ.
What does it take to start?
- Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential.
- Typical on-the-job training: short-term on-the-job training.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, education and training assignments.
How do related jobs compare on outlook?
| Occupation | Change | Openings a year | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooks, Short Order | -5.2% | 17,400 | $35,880 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | +12.1% | 218,600 | $37,390 |
| Food Preparation Workers | -3.0% | 135,700 | $35,320 |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | +2.8% | 62,900 | $37,450 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | +5.8% | 827,400 | $31,200 |
| Cooks, Private Household | +5.1% | 5,000 | $47,940 |
| Chefs and Head Cooks | +6.6% | 25,200 | $62,470 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | +4.5% | 48,800 | $35,360 |
Related occupations from O*NET; projections from BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035; pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.