Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

35-2011 Cooks, Fast Food

Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.

National estimates for Cooks, Fast Food
Industry profile for Cooks, Fast Food
Geographic profile for Cooks, Fast Food

National estimates for Cooks, Fast Food:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Cooks, Fast Food:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
673,490	1.9 %	$ 14.31	$ 29,760	0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for Cooks, Fast Food:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 10.48	$ 12.00	$ 14.07	$ 16.50	$ 17.56
Annual Wage (2)	$ 21,800	$ 24,960	$ 29,260	$ 34,320	$ 36,510

Industry profile for Cooks, Fast Food:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Cooks, Fast Food are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Cooks, Fast Food, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Cooks, Fast Food:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	652,220	6.00	$ 14.27	$ 29,680
Gasoline Stations	5,670	0.59	$ 13.55	$ 28,180
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)	4,210	0.14	$ 15.70	$ 32,650
Special Food Services	3,970	0.55	$ 17.21	$ 35,790
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	1,250	0.09	$ 15.71	$ 32,680

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Cooks, Fast Food:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	652,220	6.00	$ 14.27	$ 29,680
Gasoline Stations	5,670	0.59	$ 13.55	$ 28,180
Special Food Services	3,970	0.55	$ 17.21	$ 35,790
Gambling Industries	400	0.19	$ 15.96	$ 33,190
Amusement Parks and Arcades	420	0.19	$ 16.94	$ 35,240

Top paying industries for Cooks, Fast Food:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Beverage Manufacturing	470	0.15	$ 20.31	$ 42,240
Traveler Accommodation	570	0.03	$ 19.77	$ 41,120
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	360	0.04	$ 17.92	$ 37,270
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events	70	0.04	$ 17.27	$ 35,930
Special Food Services	3,970	0.55	$ 17.21	$ 35,790

Geographic profile for Cooks, Fast Food:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Cooks, Fast Food are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Cooks, Fast Food, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Map of employment of cooks, fast food by state, May 2023

States with the highest employment level in Cooks, Fast Food:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	164,680	9.18	2.07	$ 17.21	$ 35,790
North Carolina	94,450	19.70	4.44	$ 12.06	$ 25,080
Missouri	44,280	15.39	3.47	$ 13.86	$ 28,820
Florida	26,540	2.77	0.63	$ 13.58	$ 28,250
Alabama	23,480	11.44	2.58	$ 12.38	$ 25,750

Map of location quotient of cooks, fast food by state, May 2023

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cooks, Fast Food:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
West Virginia	14,770	21.45	4.84	$ 11.27	$ 23,440
North Carolina	94,450	19.70	4.44	$ 12.06	$ 25,080
Missouri	44,280	15.39	3.47	$ 13.86	$ 28,820
Kentucky	23,090	11.76	2.65	$ 12.03	$ 25,020
Alabama	23,480	11.44	2.58	$ 12.38	$ 25,750

Map of annual mean wages of cooks, fast food by state, May 2023

Top paying states for Cooks, Fast Food:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Massachusetts	3,800	1.04	0.24	$ 18.33	$ 38,120
Washington	5,940	1.70	0.38	$ 18.08	$ 37,610
District of Columbia	2,010	2.86	0.64	$ 17.74	$ 36,900
California	164,680	9.18	2.07	$ 17.21	$ 35,790
New Jersey	5,580	1.33	0.30	$ 16.90	$ 35,160

Map of employment of cooks, fast food by area, May 2023

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Cooks, Fast Food:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	63,410	10.25	2.31	$ 17.37	$ 36,130
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	20,770	12.50	2.82	$ 16.27	$ 33,850
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	19,690	15.01	3.38	$ 12.84	$ 26,710
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	16,480	1.74	0.39	$ 17.32	$ 36,030
St. Louis, MO-IL	16,270	12.28	2.77	$ 14.43	$ 30,010
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	15,730	10.33	2.33	$ 17.05	$ 35,470
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	13,540	5.59	1.26	$ 18.68	$ 38,850
Raleigh, NC	11,130	15.84	3.57	$ 12.36	$ 25,710
Kansas City, MO-KS	10,690	9.91	2.23	$ 14.26	$ 29,660
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	10,480	3.39	0.76	$ 16.39	$ 34,090

Map of location quotient of cooks, fast food by area, May 2023

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cooks, Fast Food:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Jacksonville, NC	2,280	44.18	9.96	$ 11.03	$ 22,940
Fayetteville, NC	4,220	32.32	7.29	$ 11.22	$ 23,340
Goldsboro, NC	1,270	31.71	7.15	$ 11.06	$ 23,010
Burlington, NC	1,980	29.95	6.75	$ 11.81	$ 24,560
Rocky Mount, NC	1,580	29.37	6.62	$ 11.33	$ 23,560
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV	1,020	28.46	6.42	$ 11.04	$ 22,960
Greenville, NC	2,140	26.84	6.05	$ 11.40	$ 23,720
Beckley, WV	1,100	26.65	6.01	$ 10.75	$ 22,370
New Bern, NC	1,160	25.61	5.77	$ 11.30	$ 23,510
Winston-Salem, NC	6,430	23.68	5.34	$ 11.93	$ 24,810