Cooking Salary
$20.5K - $23K
1% of jobs
$23K - $25.5K
3% of jobs
$25.5K - $28K
5% of jobs
$28K - $30.5K
9% of jobs
$31.8K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$30.5K - $33K
14% of jobs
$33K - $35.5K
14% of jobs
The median wage is $36.1K / yr.
$35.5K - $38K
18% of jobs
$39.9K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$38K - $40.5K
14% of jobs
$40.5K - $43K
11% of jobs
$43K - $45.5K
6% of jobs
$45.5K - $48K
5% of jobs
$20.5K
$35K
$46.5K
$35,582
/year
$17.11
/hour
Cooking Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$35,582
Columbus
Ohio
$34,369
Do you get a good deal as a Cooking?
Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.
Take The Breakroom Quiz
How much does a Cooking make?
As of Jul 17, 2026, the average annual pay for a Cooking in the United States is $35,582 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $17.11 an hour. This is the equivalent of $684/week or $2,965/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $46,500 and as low as $20,500, the majority of Cooking salaries currently range between $31,500 (25th percentile) to $39,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $44,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Cooking varies greatly (by as much as 8000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Cooking in your area makes on average $34,369 per year, or $1,213 (3.409%) less than the national average annual salary of $35,582. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Cooking salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Cooking jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Cooking on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Cooking Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Cooking job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with San Jose, CA, and Berkeley, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Berkeley, CA, beats the national average by $7,987 (22.4%), and Nome, AK, furthers that trend with another $8,558 (24.1%) above the $35,582 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Cooking appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 5% between Nome, AK, and Redmond, WA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Cooking role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $44,140 | $21.22 |
San Jose, CA | $43,979 | $21.14 |
Berkeley, CA | $43,569 | $20.95 |
Columbia, WA | $43,461 | $20.89 |
Aspen, CO | $43,009 | $20.68 |
Sitka, AK | $42,865 | $20.61 |
San Bruno, CA | $42,510 | $20.44 |
Justin, TX | $42,022 | $20.20 |
San Francisco, CA | $41,924 | $20.16 |
Redmond, WA | $41,920 | $20.15 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Cooking Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Cooking job category, we found that Chef De Partie jobs have average salaries greater than Cooking jobs.
Significantly, Chef De Partie jobs pay $9,194 (25.8%) more than the average Cooking salary of $35,582. If you're qualified, finding work as a Chef De Partie may help you make more money than that of the average Cooking position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Chef De Partie | $44,776 | $21.53 |
Military Cook | $33,590 | $16.15 |
Hospital Cook | $33,362 | $16.04 |
Restaurant Line Cook | $32,189 | $15.48 |
Restaurant Cook | $27,597 | $13.27 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
