Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

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)
487,510	1.8 %	$10.89	$22,650	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$8.36	$9.22	$10.74	$12.07	$14.08
Annual Wage (2)	$17,390	$19,180	$22,330	$25,110	$29,290

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	469,500	4.39	$10.86	$22,580
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	4,180	0.14	$12.08	$25,140
Gasoline Stations	3,370	0.36	$10.44	$21,710
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	2,100	0.16	$12.06	$25,070
Special Food Services	1,480	0.21	$11.79	$24,530

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	469,500	4.39	$10.86	$22,580
Amusement Parks and Arcades	960	0.46	$11.28	$23,470
Gasoline Stations	3,370	0.36	$10.44	$21,710
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1,350	0.34	$11.06	$23,000
Special Food Services	1,480	0.21	$11.79	$24,530

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Furniture Stores	110	0.05	$15.96	$33,200
Traveler Accommodation	900	0.04	$14.54	$30,250
Gambling Industries	310	0.13	$13.65	$28,400
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	(8)	(8)	$13.64	$28,380
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	(8)	(8)	$12.91	$26,860

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	111,360	6.55	1.94	$12.18	$25,330
Texas	40,100	3.31	0.98	$10.09	$21,000
Illinois	18,120	3.02	0.90	$10.43	$21,690
Arizona	17,500	6.27	1.86	$11.36	$23,620
Georgia	17,370	3.95	1.17	$9.82	$20,430

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)
Mississippi	12,610	11.22	3.33	$8.78	$18,270
Idaho	7,550	10.69	3.17	$9.31	$19,360
Oklahoma	14,960	9.39	2.79	$9.32	$19,380
Nevada	9,970	7.40	2.20	$10.69	$22,230
California	111,360	6.55	1.94	$12.18	$25,330

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	2,410	3.38	1.00	$14.05	$29,220
Washington	8,080	2.48	0.74	$13.92	$28,960
Massachusetts	6,330	1.77	0.53	$13.76	$28,620
Hawaii	1,560	2.43	0.72	$13.54	$28,160
Connecticut	4,980	3.00	0.89	$13.00	$27,040

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-Anaheim, CA	43,560	7.12	2.11	$12.29	$25,560
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	14,550	9.74	2.89	$11.83	$24,610
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	13,790	6.71	1.99	$11.39	$23,680
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	13,630	2.94	0.87	$10.48	$21,800
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	12,610	1.33	0.39	$12.07	$25,100
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	12,400	3.47	1.03	$10.30	$21,420
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	11,150	4.61	1.37	$12.47	$25,940
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	10,660	3.98	1.18	$10.06	$20,920
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	9,960	3.18	0.94	$12.04	$25,050
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	8,640	8.76	2.60	$10.75	$22,360