Real salary data
What Cooks actually earn in 2026.
The median for Cook is $38,740 across 135 real salary records (H-1B visa filings and tech job postings), updated Oct 26, 2026.
01 / By source
Real salary bands, by source.
Bands come from 135 real records. Each source has a different bias, disclosed below.
Density curve fitted to the observed quartiles (log-normal). $35,495–$43,680 contains the middle 50% of records in the best-represented source; the shape between them is an approximation.
| Source | Records | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job postings | 135 | $35,495 | $38,740 | $43,680 |
| H-1B visa filings | 19 | $40,352 | $42,349 | $49,930 |
- Job postings that disclose salary in the ad text
- H-1B visa filings (DOL) — over-represents visa-eligible roles (typically high-skill, high-wage)
Salary data updated Oct 26, 2026. Bands are percentiles, not averages; n is the number of underlying records.
02 / By city
What Cooks earn, by city.
Real records; cities with at least 10 observations.
| City | Records | Range (p25–p75) | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids, MI | 16 | $35,100 – $41,925 | $37,180 |
| Chicago, IL | 13 | $36,504 – $45,760 | $39,520 |
| Albuquerque, NM | 11 | $31,460 – $37,440 | $35,360 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 11 | $41,600 – $46,020 | $43,160 |
| San Francisco, CA | 11 | $41,600 – $46,280 | $42,349 |
| Nashville, TN | 10 | $34,580 – $41,080 | $37,960 |
03 / By state
What Cooks earn, by state.
| State | Records | Range (p25–p75) | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 28 | $41,600 – $47,710 | $43,160 |
| MI | 24 | $36,140 – $43,355 | $39,000 |
| IL | 13 | $36,504 – $45,760 | $39,520 |
| NM | 11 | $31,460 – $37,440 | $35,360 |
| TN | 10 | $34,580 – $41,080 | $37,960 |
04 / Context
How Cooks pay compares with similar roles.
| Profession | Risk | Median | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dishwasher | Critical | $37,440 | +0.2% (2024–34) |
| Fast Food and Counter Worker | High | $36,400 | +6.1% (2024–34) |
| Food Service Manager | High | $65,000 | +6.4% (2024–34) |
05 / Next step
How to move up the pay band.
The skills below appear most often in higher-paid roles:
- udemyLearn to Cook VeganIntermediate
- udemyCook Like a Wok Star!Intermediate
- udemyCook paella like a SpaniardIntermediate
- udemyCook Indian Food-Restaurant FavoritesIntermediate
- udemyHow To Cook Filipino FoodIntermediate
- udemyLet's Cook Healthy Baby Food!Intermediate
- udemyMeal Prep Made Simple: Cook Once, Eat for 4 DaysIntermediate
- udemyCook Healthy Foods | Learn To Meal Prep For A Healthy FamilyIntermediate
06 / FAQ
Salary questions, answered.
01Why are the bands different from the BLS median?
The BLS median covers all Cook in the US. These bands come from real records with known biases — H-1B filings skew to visa-eligible (high-skill) roles and tech postings skew to tech employers — so they sit above the national median. We disclose the source of every band.
02How often is this data updated?
The dataset refreshes weekly from live job postings and quarterly from new H-1B disclosures.