Cooks, Short Order Salary
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations · 139K employed in the U.S.
Median annual
$35,880
Median hourly
$17
Average annual
$36,120
Typical range
$23,440–$46,460
Pay distribution
10th to 90th percentile, with the median marked.
What this role pays
The median annual salary for Cooks, Short Order is $35,880 as of May 2025, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. That works out to about $17 an hour at a full-time schedule.
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..
Most earn between $23,440 and $46,460 a year. There are roughly 139K people employed as cooks, short order in the United States. Use the state and metro pages below to see how pay changes by location, and the calculator to convert any hourly or annual figure.
Salary calculator
Convert your pay and see where it lands for Cooks, Short Order.
- Hourly
- $17.25
- Daily
- $138
- Weekly
- $690
- Bi-weekly
- $1,380
- Monthly
- $2,990
- Annual
- $35,880
$35,880 a year is around the 50th percentile for Cooks, Short Orders. The median is $35,880.
Highest-paying states
Median annual wage by state.
- 1Arizona$46,630
- 2Rhode Island$46,250
- 3Massachusetts$44,290
- 4Hawaii$43,110
- 5California$42,930
- 6Washington$42,760
- 7Colorado$42,450
- 8Connecticut$42,450
- 9District of Columbia$42,450
- 10New Jersey$40,720
- 11Idaho$40,090
- 12Vermont$38,830
Top-paying metro areas
Median annual wage by metro area.
- 1Corvallis, OR$54,020
- 2Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$50,870
- 3Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ$50,180
- 4Kahului-Wailuku, HI$48,140
- 5Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$46,450
- 6San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$45,990
- 7San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$45,790
- 8Barnstable Town, MA$45,690
- 9Vallejo, CA$45,360
- 10Waterbury-Shelton, CT$44,780
- 11Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$44,200
- 12Providence-Warwick, RI-MA$44,050
Related job titles
Employers advertise Cooks, Short Order roles under these titles.
Related occupations
What a Cooks, Short Order does
- Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.
- Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.
- Perform general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas.
- Restock kitchen supplies, rotate food, and stamp the time and date on food in coolers.
- Grill, cook, and fry foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes.
- Plan work on orders so that items served together are finished at the same time.
- Take orders from customers and cook foods requiring short preparation times, according to customer requirements.
- Order supplies and stock them on shelves.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Cooks, Short Order make?
- The median annual wage for Cooks, Short Order is $35,880 ($17 per hour). Pay ranges from about $23,440 at the 10th percentile to $46,460 at the 90th percentile.
- What is the average salary for a Cooks, Short Order?
- The average (mean) annual salary is $36,120, which is higher than the median because a small number of high earners pull the average up.
- Which state pays Cooks, Short Orders the most?
- Arizona has the highest median annual wage for this occupation at $46,630.
- Is Cooks, Short Order a growing occupation?
- BLS employment data for May 2025 counts about 139K people in this occupation. Projected growth is published separately in the BLS Employment Projections program.
- What does a Cooks, Short Order do?
- Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.; Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.; Perform general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas..