Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2015

35-2011 Cooks, Fast Food

Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic 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)
520,010 1.8 % $9.43 $19,610 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.94 $8.53 $9.17 $10.01 $11.61
Annual Wage (2) $16,510 $17,750 $19,080 $20,810 $24,140


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 497,920 5.02 $9.39 $19,540
Gasoline Stations 4,100 0.46 $9.36 $19,460
Grocery Stores 2,710 0.10 $9.90 $20,590
Special Food Services 2,540 0.38 $10.03 $20,860
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries 2,220 0.19 $10.44 $21,710

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 497,920 5.02 $9.39 $19,540
Amusement Parks and Arcades 1,700 0.89 $10.50 $21,840
Specialty Food Stores 1,360 0.59 $9.83 $20,450
Gasoline Stations 4,100 0.46 $9.36 $19,460
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) 1,460 0.39 $10.04 $20,890

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other General Merchandise Stores 140 0.01 $13.60 $28,280
Furniture Stores 70 0.03 $13.53 $28,140
Traveler Accommodation 1,790 0.09 $12.23 $25,430
Employment Services 750 0.02 $11.26 $23,430
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 90 (7) $11.07 $23,020


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 99,480 6.42 1.70 $10.25 $21,310
Texas 55,520 4.80 1.27 $8.93 $18,570
Georgia 22,780 5.54 1.47 $8.81 $18,320
New York 22,010 2.45 0.65 $10.01 $20,830
Illinois 21,230 3.63 0.96 $9.45 $19,650




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Oklahoma 17,590 11.02 2.92 $8.53 $17,730
Mississippi 11,950 10.80 2.86 $8.49 $17,660
South Carolina 15,460 8.02 2.13 $8.49 $17,660
Idaho 5,150 8.01 2.12 $8.59 $17,870
Arkansas 8,410 7.15 1.90 $8.52 $17,720




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 870 2.67 0.71 $11.49 $23,890
North Dakota 1,160 2.58 0.68 $11.30 $23,490
Washington 7,590 2.54 0.67 $11.25 $23,400
Hawaii 2,650 4.27 1.13 $11.25 $23,390
Vermont 800 2.63 0.70 $11.02 $22,920





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 25,120 6.12 1.62 $10.12 $21,050
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 13,810 5.57 1.48 $8.91 $18,530
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 13,540 2.09 0.55 $9.95 $20,690
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 13,220 10.09 2.67 $9.91 $20,610
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 11,620 3.97 1.05 $9.03 $18,790
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 11,000 7.22 1.91 $10.22 $21,250
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 10,440 2.92 0.78 $9.49 $19,740
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 8,820 4.70 1.25 $9.94 $20,670
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 8,620 3.70 0.98 $9.23 $19,210
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 7,730 5.71 1.52 $10.60 $22,050




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 760 14.80 3.92 $8.28 $17,230
Hattiesburg, MS 820 14.15 3.75 $8.64 $17,970
Sherman-Denison, TX 590 13.71 3.64 $8.96 $18,630
Morristown, TN 550 13.31 3.53 $8.42 $17,510
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ 440 13.04 3.46 $9.16 $19,060
San Angelo, TX 600 12.93 3.43 $8.53 $17,740
Tulsa, OK 5,530 12.75 3.38 $8.41 $17,480
Victoria, TX 530 12.59 3.34 $8.98 $18,670
Sumter, SC 430 12.27 3.25 $8.25 $17,160
Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 1,770 12.11 3.21 $8.40 $17,470




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Tacoma-Lakewood, WA Metropolitan Division 560 2.01 0.53 $12.43 $25,850
Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA NECTA Division 80 0.89 0.24 $12.22 $25,430
Newark, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 2,460 2.13 0.57 $11.97 $24,890
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 4,060 3.98 1.06 $11.81 $24,570
Urban Honolulu, HI 1,680 3.70 0.98 $11.76 $24,470
Olympia-Tumwater, WA (8) (8) (8) $11.75 $24,440
Portsmouth, NH-ME 170 1.92 0.51 $11.68 $24,300
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL (8) (8) (8) $11.67 $24,280
Anchorage, AK 620 3.50 0.93 $11.61 $24,150
San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division 390 3.48 0.92 $11.52 $23,960

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 2,710 16.15 4.28 $8.53 $17,740
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 2,650 11.86 3.14 $8.48 $17,640
West Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area 1,570 8.93 2.37 $9.02 $18,770
Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 1,430 9.35 2.48 $8.31 $17,290
North Georgia nonmetropolitan area 1,280 8.31 2.20 $9.02 $18,770

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Pee Dee South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 840 18.51 4.91 $8.17 $17,000
Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 2,710 16.15 4.28 $8.53 $17,740
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 2,650 11.86 3.14 $8.48 $17,640
Lower Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 600 11.24 2.98 $8.43 $17,540
Central Utah nonmetropolitan area 210 10.59 2.81 $8.50 $17,670

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $13.57 $28,230
West Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 360 5.64 1.50 $13.27 $27,600
Far West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 170 2.05 0.54 $12.62 $26,240
Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $12.57 $26,150
Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 230 2.16 0.57 $12.14 $25,240


About May 2015 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. 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 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.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2015 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2016