Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

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. Exclude "Fast Food Cooks" (35-2011).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
227,360 3.7 % $8.30 $17,260 0.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $5.91 $6.71 $7.90 $9.71 $11.31
Annual Wage (2) $12,290 $13,960 $16,430 $20,190 $23,520

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Full-service restaurants 92,300 $8.62 $17,930 1 29
Limited-service eating places 61,350 $7.67 $15,940 2 47
Gasoline stations 14,390 $7.32 $15,230 3 52
Drinking places, alcoholic beverages 10,480 $8.28 $17,220 4 36
Other amusement and recreation industries 10,410 $8.17 $16,980 5 38

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Rail transportation 140 $15.04 $31,280 31 1
Inland water transportation 50 $12.81 $26,650 46 2
Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers 60 $12.15 $25,280 44 3
Services to buildings and dwellings (6) $11.05 $22,990 (6) 4
Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals 50 $10.98 $22,840 45 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
North Dakota 1,320 $7.76 $16,140 0.420% 499
Delaware 1,650 $9.12 $18,970 0.410% 477
West Virginia 2,400 $6.59 $13,700 0.352% 616
Maine 1,780 $8.62 $17,930 0.302% 575
South Carolina 5,230 $7.82 $16,270 0.296% 615

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 370 $11.06 $23,010 0.127% 448
Hawaii 750 $10.97 $22,820 0.136% 447
Connecticut 1,820 $10.67 $22,180 0.111% 590
District of Columbia (6) $10.63 $22,120 (6) 403
Massachusetts 4,390 $10.49 $21,810 0.138% 645

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Muncie, IN MSA 470 $7.19 $14,960 0.879%
Janesville-Beloit, WI MSA 500 $8.18 $17,010 0.769%
Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI MSA 1,110 $6.75 $14,040 0.640%
Lake Charles, LA MSA 510 $6.61 $13,760 0.626%
Victoria, TX MSA 190 $7.24 $15,060 0.552%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 160 $15.34 $31,910 0.080%
Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA MSA (6) $13.06 $27,160 (6)
Danbury, CT PMSA 130 $11.86 $24,660 0.146%
Boston, MA-NH PMSA 1,660 $11.14 $23,160 0.086%
Santa Rosa, CA PMSA 170 $11.10 $23,090 0.089%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. 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 mean 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.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004