Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
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 Cooks, Short Order
Industry profile for Cooks, Short Order
Geographic profile for Cooks, Short Order
National estimates for Cooks, Short Order:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Cooks, Short Order:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 124,800 |
6.2 % |
$ 13.51 |
$ 28,110 |
1.3 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Cooks, Short Order:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 9.16 |
$ 11.00 |
$ 13.73 |
$ 14.93 |
$ 18.30 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 19,050 |
$ 22,880 |
$ 28,560 |
$ 31,050 |
$ 38,060 |
Industry profile for Cooks, Short Order:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Cooks, Short Order are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Cooks, Short Order, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Cooks, Short Order:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places |
79,540 |
0.84 |
$ 13.22 |
$ 27,490 |
| Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) |
9,760 |
0.33 |
$ 14.94 |
$ 31,070 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
8,600 |
2.80 |
$ 14.51 |
$ 30,190 |
| Gasoline Stations |
8,450 |
0.91 |
$ 12.16 |
$ 25,290 |
| Special Food Services |
5,870 |
1.24 |
$ 14.97 |
$ 31,140 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Cooks, Short Order:
Top paying industries for Cooks, Short Order:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
240 |
(7) |
$ 20.23 |
$ 42,070 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations |
60 |
0.01 |
$ 16.90 |
$ 35,140 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
160 |
0.01 |
$ 16.23 |
$ 33,750 |
| Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing |
390 |
0.13 |
$ 15.90 |
$ 33,080 |
| Employment Services |
440 |
0.01 |
$ 15.87 |
$ 33,010 |
Geographic profile for Cooks, Short Order:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Cooks, Short Order are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Cooks, Short Order, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Cooks, Short Order:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
14,860 |
0.90 |
1.01 |
$ 16.26 |
$ 33,820 |
| Texas |
12,290 |
1.01 |
1.13 |
$ 11.15 |
$ 23,200 |
| Florida |
10,300 |
1.20 |
1.35 |
$ 12.06 |
$ 25,080 |
| Ohio |
6,570 |
1.26 |
1.43 |
$ 12.41 |
$ 25,820 |
| New York |
5,960 |
0.69 |
0.78 |
$ 15.81 |
$ 32,890 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cooks, Short Order:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New Hampshire |
2,860 |
4.50 |
5.08 |
$ 13.39 |
$ 27,850 |
| South Dakota |
1,540 |
3.65 |
4.12 |
$ 13.42 |
$ 27,920 |
| Maine |
1,290 |
2.18 |
2.46 |
$ 16.39 |
$ 34,090 |
| Alaska |
640 |
2.17 |
2.45 |
$ 16.01 |
$ 33,290 |
| Oklahoma |
3,370 |
2.17 |
2.45 |
$ 9.99 |
$ 20,790 |
Top paying states for Cooks, Short Order:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Cooks, Short Order:
| 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 |
5,880 |
0.68 |
0.76 |
$ 15.39 |
$ 32,000 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
4,780 |
0.84 |
0.94 |
$ 16.11 |
$ 33,510 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
4,680 |
1.81 |
2.04 |
$ 16.41 |
$ 34,130 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
4,500 |
1.84 |
2.07 |
$ 11.57 |
$ 24,070 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
4,010 |
0.95 |
1.07 |
$ 14.06 |
$ 29,250 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,410 |
0.67 |
0.76 |
$ 12.29 |
$ 25,570 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,340 |
0.81 |
0.91 |
$ 11.79 |
$ 24,520 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
2,310 |
1.51 |
1.71 |
$ 14.80 |
$ 30,790 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX |
2,190 |
2.04 |
2.30 |
$ 11.03 |
$ 22,930 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
2,040 |
0.69 |
0.78 |
$ 13.48 |
$ 28,040 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cooks, Short Order:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Dover-Durham, NH-ME |
250 |
5.06 |
5.71 |
$ 12.62 |
$ 26,250 |
| Rapid City, SD |
270 |
4.07 |
4.59 |
$ 13.47 |
$ 28,020 |
| Portsmouth, NH-ME |
340 |
3.88 |
4.38 |
$ 14.47 |
$ 30,090 |
| Manchester, NH |
380 |
3.59 |
4.05 |
$ 12.86 |
$ 26,740 |
| Ocean City, NJ |
130 |
3.37 |
3.80 |
$ 15.30 |
$ 31,820 |
| Sioux Falls, SD |
500 |
3.22 |
3.64 |
$ 13.77 |
$ 28,640 |
| Lake Charles, LA |
220 |
2.39 |
2.70 |
$ 10.06 |
$ 20,930 |
| Anchorage, AK |
380 |
2.37 |
2.67 |
$ 16.10 |
$ 33,480 |
| Bangor, ME |
150 |
2.34 |
2.64 |
$ 15.16 |
$ 31,520 |
| Baton Rouge, LA |
840 |
2.28 |
2.58 |
$ 11.94 |
$ 24,840 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Cooks, Short Order:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 19.07 |
$ 39,670 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,580 |
0.70 |
0.79 |
$ 18.30 |
$ 38,060 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
830 |
0.43 |
0.49 |
$ 18.24 |
$ 37,940 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT |
80 |
0.15 |
0.17 |
$ 17.93 |
$ 37,290 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 17.81 |
$ 37,050 |
| Bellingham, WA |
60 |
0.72 |
0.82 |
$ 17.50 |
$ 36,410 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME |
420 |
2.11 |
2.38 |
$ 17.37 |
$ 36,130 |
| Napa, CA |
90 |
1.26 |
1.42 |
$ 17.33 |
$ 36,040 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 17.14 |
$ 35,660 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
150 |
1.65 |
1.86 |
$ 17.09 |
$ 35,560 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Cooks, Short Order:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cooks, Short Order:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Cooks, Short Order:
About May 2021 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 OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
