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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

35-2015 Cooks, Short Order

Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. May take orders from customers and serve patrons at counters or tables. Excludes “Cooks, Fast Food” (35-2011).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
152,670 3.2 % $12.62 $26,240 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.99 $10.16 $12.09 $14.48 $17.34
Annual Wage (2) $18,700 $21,130 $25,150 $30,120 $36,070


Industry profile for this occupation:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 95,770 0.89 $12.35 $25,680
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) 13,600 3.42 $12.83 $26,690
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) 10,890 0.37 $13.98 $29,080
Special Food Services 7,760 1.06 $14.17 $29,480
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries 6,610 0.49 $12.29 $25,570

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) 13,600 3.42 $12.83 $26,690
Special Food Services 7,760 1.06 $14.17 $29,480
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 95,770 0.89 $12.35 $25,680
Gasoline Stations 6,410 0.69 $11.29 $23,470
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries 6,610 0.49 $12.29 $25,570

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Furniture Stores 50 0.02 $17.15 $35,670
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water 50 0.31 $17.14 $35,650
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 160 0.01 $16.24 $33,790
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 260 (7) $16.03 $33,350
Elementary and Secondary Schools 40 (7) $15.63 $32,500


Geographic profile for this occupation:

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 19,420 1.12 1.07 $14.43 $30,010
Texas 13,640 1.10 1.06 $10.73 $22,330
New Jersey 10,320 2.52 2.43 $12.82 $26,680
New York 9,600 1.01 0.97 $14.06 $29,250
Tennessee 7,000 2.33 2.24 $11.57 $24,060




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
South Dakota 1,550 3.64 3.50 $11.85 $24,640
New Hampshire 2,380 3.60 3.46 $12.45 $25,900
Oklahoma 4,980 3.08 2.96 $9.97 $20,740
New Jersey 10,320 2.52 2.43 $12.82 $26,680
Tennessee 7,000 2.33 2.24 $11.57 $24,060




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington 2,480 0.75 0.72 $16.46 $34,230
District of Columbia 570 0.79 0.76 $15.62 $32,480
Hawaii 880 1.38 1.33 $15.46 $32,150
Massachusetts 5,870 1.62 1.56 $15.10 $31,410
Alaska 470 1.48 1.42 $14.95 $31,090





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 12,780 1.32 1.27 $13.70 $28,500
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 6,990 1.12 1.08 $14.02 $29,150
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 5,410 1.93 1.86 $14.86 $30,920
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 4,070 0.87 0.84 $12.81 $26,650
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 3,620 0.99 0.95 $11.06 $23,000
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 3,110 0.98 0.94 $14.13 $29,390
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 3,040 1.43 1.38 $13.59 $28,270
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 2,730 2.74 2.63 $11.87 $24,700
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 2,570 0.89 0.86 $12.44 $25,870
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 2,360 1.54 1.48 $13.09 $27,230




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Chattanooga, TN-GA 1,390 5.51 5.30 $12.02 $25,000
Johnson City, TN 400 5.11 4.91 $11.29 $23,480
Portsmouth, NH-ME 460 4.75 4.57 $14.45 $30,060
Rapid City, SD 300 4.57 4.40 $12.38 $25,750
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 600 4.53 4.36 $13.42 $27,920
Dover-Durham, NH-ME 220 4.24 4.08 $11.91 $24,780
Niles-Benton Harbor, MI 250 4.00 3.84 $10.84 $22,540
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 180 3.28 3.15 $9.79 $20,370
Laredo, TX 330 3.15 3.03 $10.03 $20,870
Oklahoma City, OK 1,970 3.13 3.01 $10.48 $21,790




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 1,420 0.70 0.67 $17.78 $36,990
Prescott, AZ 40 0.65 0.63 $17.32 $36,030
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 930 0.35 0.34 $16.95 $35,260
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 2,160 0.87 0.84 $16.57 $34,460
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,340 1.17 1.13 $16.38 $34,070
Waterbury, CT (8) (8) (8) $16.23 $33,750
Winston-Salem, NC (8) (8) (8) $16.16 $33,610
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 130 1.27 1.22 $16.12 $33,540
Salem, OR (8) (8) (8) $16.08 $33,440
Danbury, CT (8) (8) (8) $16.00 $33,270

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 1,010 3.03 2.91 $11.37 $23,660
Northwest Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 870 8.93 8.59 $9.63 $20,020
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 580 5.62 5.40 $11.57 $24,070
East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 430 3.27 3.14 $11.32 $23,550
Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 420 2.46 2.37 $9.39 $19,540

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 870 8.93 8.59 $9.63 $20,020
West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 400 6.61 6.36 $11.62 $24,170
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 580 5.62 5.40 $11.57 $24,070
East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 430 3.27 3.14 $11.32 $23,550
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 1,010 3.03 2.91 $11.37 $23,660

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area 80 0.87 0.84 $16.25 $33,800
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area 60 0.52 0.50 $15.85 $32,970
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 40 0.35 0.34 $15.41 $32,050
Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 80 1.32 1.27 $15.22 $31,650
Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $15.17 $31,540


About May 2019 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020