Cooks, Restaurant

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$37,390

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$34,010 – $44,620

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

1,409,890

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+12.1%

Growing at twice the all-jobs rate or more (7%+)

Openings a year (projected)

218,600

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

No formal educational credential

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

Main tasks

• Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
• Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
• Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.
• Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock.
• Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience.
• Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen staff.
• Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
• Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using various kitchen utensils and equipment.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

No formal educational credential

Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

  $37,450 median · +2.8% projected

• Bakers

  $37,160 median · +5.5% projected

• Butchers and Meat Cutters

  $40,140 median · +2.4% projected

• Cooks, Private Household

  $47,940 median · +5.1% projected

• Chefs and Head Cooks

  $62,470 median · +6.6% projected

• Food Batchmakers

  $42,290 median · +6.5% projected