Cooks, Fast Food salary · Kentucky
Cooks, Fast Food Salary in Kentucky
Cooks, Fast Food in Kentucky earn a median of $23,500 a year, which is $11.30 an hour. That is $7,390 below the national median of $30,890, a difference of 24 percent. The state employs 21,750.
Kentucky against the US May 2025
| Figure | Kentucky | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual | $23,500 | $30,890 |
| Median hourly | $11.30 | $14.85 |
| Mean annual | $25,300 | $32,390 |
| 10th percentile | $21,220 | $22,580 |
| 90th percentile | $30,000 | $42,910 |
| Employment | 21,750 | 641,070 |
How Kentucky compares
By median pay, Kentucky ranks 11 of the 12 states this site reports for cooks, fast food. Ranking is on the published median only. It says nothing about how far that salary goes once housing, state income tax and commuting are paid, and those differences between states are frequently larger than the pay gap itself.
Other states for cooks, fast food May 2025
| State | Median | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $42,050 | $20.21 | 124,440 |
| Illinois | $34,960 | $16.81 | 13,430 |
| Florida | $29,900 | $14.37 | 22,600 |
| Missouri | $29,890 | $14.37 | 55,780 |
| Michigan | $29,460 | $14.17 | 14,340 |
| Tennessee | $28,330 | $13.62 | 14,020 |
| Texas | $28,280 | $13.60 | 36,240 |
| Alabama | $27,870 | $13.40 | 26,740 |
| North Carolina | $27,190 | $13.07 | 81,980 |
| Georgia | $26,940 | $12.95 | 12,940 |
| West Virginia | $23,120 | $11.12 | 16,490 |
Common questions
How much do cooks, fast food make in Kentucky?
The median salary for cooks, fast food in Kentucky is $23,500 a year, or $11.30 an hour. That is $7,390 below the national median of $30,890, a difference of 24 percent. Kentucky employs 21,750 of them.
Is Kentucky a good state to work as a cooks, fast food?
On pay alone, Kentucky ranks 11 of the 12 states this site reports for the occupation, by median salary. Pay is only half the question though: a state with a higher median can still leave you with less once housing and taxes are counted, and this site does not adjust for cost of living.
What is the pay range for cooks, fast food in Kentucky?
The lowest-paid 10 percent earn $21,220 or less and the highest-paid 10 percent earn $30,000 or more. The middle half falls between $22,030 and $27,890.
Where these numbers come from
Published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 release, for SOC code 35-2011 in Kentucky. Nothing on this page is interpolated or averaged by this site. See the national cooks, fast food salary page for the full picture, or how to read these figures for what the survey covers.