Cooks, Restaurant salary · Illinois
Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Illinois
Cooks, Restaurant in Illinois earn a median of $37,580 a year, which is $18.07 an hour. That is about the same as the national median of $37,390. The state employs 53,540.
Illinois against the US May 2025
| Figure | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual | $37,580 | $37,390 |
| Median hourly | $18.07 | $17.98 |
| Mean annual | $39,520 | $38,730 |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $28,700 |
| 90th percentile | $46,460 | $47,900 |
| Employment | 53,540 | 1,409,890 |
How Illinois compares
By median pay, Illinois ranks 4 of the 12 states this site reports for cooks, restaurant. 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, restaurant May 2025
| State | Median | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $46,800 | $22.50 | 35,140 |
| California | $44,880 | $21.58 | 152,250 |
| New York | $43,680 | $21.00 | 71,530 |
| Florida | $37,020 | $17.80 | 124,040 |
| Michigan | $36,980 | $17.78 | 39,100 |
| Virginia | $36,750 | $17.67 | 40,310 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,580 | $17.59 | 54,100 |
| Georgia | $35,940 | $17.28 | 46,350 |
| Ohio | $35,540 | $17.09 | 46,910 |
| North Carolina | $35,400 | $17.02 | 50,150 |
| Texas | $34,760 | $16.71 | 126,620 |
Common questions
How much do cooks, restaurant make in Illinois?
The median salary for cooks, restaurant in Illinois is $37,580 a year, or $18.07 an hour. That is about the same as the national median of $37,390. Illinois employs 53,540 of them.
Is Illinois a good state to work as a cooks, restaurant?
On pay alone, Illinois ranks 4 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, restaurant in Illinois?
The lowest-paid 10 percent earn $31,200 or less and the highest-paid 10 percent earn $46,460 or more. The middle half falls between $35,360 and $45,010.
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 35-2014 in Illinois. Nothing on this page is interpolated or averaged by this site. See the national cooks, restaurant salary page for the full picture, or how to read these figures for what the survey covers.