• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

35-2012 Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.

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National estimates for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Industry profile for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Geographic profile for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

National estimates for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
435,640	1.0 %	$ 17.27	$ 35,920	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 12.16	$ 14.08	$ 16.98	$ 19.39	$ 22.75
Annual Wage (2)	$ 25,290	$ 29,280	$ 35,320	$ 40,320	$ 47,310

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Industry profile for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Elementary and Secondary Schools	137,290	1.60	$ 16.01	$ 33,300
Special Food Services	66,940	9.29	$ 18.01	$ 37,450
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	47,390	3.44	$ 16.57	$ 34,470
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	45,110	4.88	$ 17.97	$ 37,370
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	30,770	0.54	$ 19.89	$ 41,370

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Special Food Services	66,940	9.29	$ 18.01	$ 37,450
Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps	500	5.02	$ 19.39	$ 40,330
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	45,110	4.88	$ 17.97	$ 37,370
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	47,390	3.44	$ 16.57	$ 34,470
Child Care Services	19,720	2.10	$ 15.32	$ 31,860

Top paying industries for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Support Activities for Mining	30	0.01	$ 27.70	$ 57,620
Motion Picture and Video Industries	130	0.03	$ 26.19	$ 54,470
Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation	240	0.62	$ 25.31	$ 52,640
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	2,730	0.13	$ 25.14	$ 52,280
Support Activities for Water Transportation	110	0.11	$ 22.36	$ 46,510

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Geographic profile for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

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

States with the highest employment level in Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Texas	39,230	2.89	1.01	$ 15.40	$ 32,030
California	24,260	1.35	0.47	$ 22.24	$ 46,250
Ohio	23,320	4.26	1.49	$ 16.73	$ 34,790
Pennsylvania	20,980	3.53	1.23	$ 17.19	$ 35,750
Florida	20,730	2.17	0.76	$ 16.76	$ 34,870

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Oklahoma	11,440	6.87	2.40	$ 13.18	$ 27,420
North Dakota	2,660	6.38	2.22	$ 18.58	$ 38,650
West Virginia	4,270	6.21	2.16	$ 14.27	$ 29,680
Kentucky	12,020	6.12	2.13	$ 14.85	$ 30,890
Iowa	8,880	5.75	2.00	$ 15.77	$ 32,790

Top paying states for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	1,440	4.62	1.61	$ 23.07	$ 47,980
Washington	11,620	3.32	1.16	$ 22.95	$ 47,740
Massachusetts	8,100	2.22	0.78	$ 22.47	$ 46,730
California	24,260	1.35	0.47	$ 22.24	$ 46,250
Hawaii	990	1.60	0.56	$ 21.86	$ 45,470

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

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	14,800	1.56	0.54	$ 21.85	$ 45,460
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	12,520	2.78	0.97	$ 18.45	$ 38,370
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	9,120	2.30	0.80	$ 16.68	$ 34,690
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	8,640	3.05	1.06	$ 18.67	$ 38,830
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	7,860	1.27	0.44	$ 21.79	$ 45,330
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	7,460	2.35	0.82	$ 15.75	$ 32,760
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	6,500	3.13	1.09	$ 24.17	$ 50,270
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	6,220	2.01	0.70	$ 20.51	$ 42,660
St. Louis, MO-IL	6,170	4.66	1.62	$ 16.23	$ 33,760
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	5,750	2.08	0.73	$ 22.98	$ 47,800

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Carbondale-Marion, IL	540	10.22	3.56	$ 15.00	$ 31,200
Farmington, NM	410	8.98	3.13	$ 15.41	$ 32,050
Danville, IL	230	8.71	3.04	$ 17.40	$ 36,190
Lawton, OK	360	8.46	2.95	$ 13.28	$ 27,630
Enid, OK	180	7.56	2.63	$ 12.89	$ 26,810
Dover, DE	500	7.53	2.62	$ 18.99	$ 39,500
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH	930	7.22	2.52	$ 14.13	$ 29,380
Pine Bluff, AR	210	7.06	2.46	$ 14.04	$ 29,200
Fort Smith, AR-OK	740	6.97	2.43	$ 13.23	$ 27,520
Bowling Green, KY	540	6.82	2.38	$ 14.53	$ 30,220