Cooks, Restaurant salary · Washington

Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Washington

Cooks, Restaurant in Washington earn a median of $46,800 a year, which is $22.50 an hour. That is $9,410 above the national median of $37,390, a difference of 25 percent. The state employs 35,140.

Median in Washington $46,800 $22.50 an hour · May 2025
US median $37,390
Jobs in Washington 35,140

Washington against the US May 2025

Cooks, Restaurant in Washington against the US, May 2025
FigureWashingtonUnited States
Median annual $46,800 $37,390
Median hourly$22.50$17.98
Mean annual$47,200$38,730
10th percentile$37,940$28,700
90th percentile$57,910$47,900
Employment35,1401,409,890

How Washington compares

By median pay, Washington ranks 1 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

StateMedianHourlyJobs
California $44,880 $21.58 152,250
New York $43,680 $21.00 71,530
Illinois $37,580 $18.07 53,540
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 Washington?

The median salary for cooks, restaurant in Washington is $46,800 a year, or $22.50 an hour. That is $9,410 above the national median of $37,390, a difference of 25 percent. Washington employs 35,140 of them.

Is Washington a good state to work as a cooks, restaurant?

On pay alone, Washington ranks 1 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 Washington?

The lowest-paid 10 percent earn $37,940 or less and the highest-paid 10 percent earn $57,910 or more. The middle half falls between $42,770 and $49,540.

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 Washington. 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.