Cooks

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Total Workforce

2.35M

Average Age

35.9

Average Salary

$19,038

Average Male Salary

$20,177

Average Female Salary

$17,440

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Cooks are most often employed by the Restaurants & Food Services industry. The average yearly wage for Cooks was $19,038 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Cooks by wage are Waiters & waitresses, Food servers, nonrestaurant, and Library technicians.

Cooks are part of the Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, along with Hosts & hostesses, restaurant, lounge, & coffee shop, Chefs & head cooks, Firstline supervisors of food preparation & serving workers, Cooks, Food preparation workers, and 7 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Cooks are Westpark Tollway, Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX, North Little Rock, Sherwood & Jacksonville Cities PUMA, AR, and Mission Bend (Southwest), Cinco Ranch & Four Corners PUMA, TX. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Cooks are Westpark Tollway, Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX, El Paso City (Central) PUMA, TX, and South of I-30 & West of I-635 PUMA, TX.

Photo by Marjon Melissen

Service Occupations Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Cooks and on wages and locations for those in the field. Restaurants & Food Services is the industry that employs the most Cooks, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Cooks, by average wage, is Animal food, grain & oilseed milling. Cooks are paid most in Oakland (East) & Piedmont Cities PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Westpark Tollway, Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$19,038

AVERAGE SALARY

± $318

In 2018, Cooks earned an average of $19,038, $34,850 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Food servers, nonrestaurant make somewhat more than Cooks while Waiters & waitresses make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Cooks as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.373

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Cooks had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.373, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Cooks (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Cooks.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Cooks

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Cooks.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Cooks, by number of employees, are Restaurants & Food Services, Elementary & secondary schools, and Nursing Care Facilities.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Cooks, by average wage, are Not specified retail trade, Animal food, grain & oilseed milling, Beverage manufacturing, Seafood & other miscellaneous foods, n.e.c. , Water transportation, and Private households.

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Industries by Share

2.35M

2018 Workforce

± 37,366

1.24%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.22%

The number of people employed as Cooks has been growing at a rate of 1.24%, from 2,324,550 people in 2017 to 2,353,406 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Cooks employed by various industries. Restaurants & Food Services employs the largest share of Cooks at 72.8%, followed by Elementary & secondary schools with 5.8% and Nursing Care Facilities with 2.51%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Cooks in the US. The average age of male Cooks in the workforce is 32.6 and of female Cooks is 40.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Cooks is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

1.37M

MALE WORKFORCE

± 28,651

979k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 24,212

58.4% of Cooks are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Cooks.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Cooks

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

41.9% of Cooks are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 19.6% of Cooks, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Cooks.

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Age by Gender

32.6

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.277

40.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.38

The median age of Cooks is 35.9, and Male employees are generally 8.11 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Cooks from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Cooks is Business but a relatively high number of Cooks hold a major in Personal & Culinary Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Cooks from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cooks need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Critical Thinking, and Management of Material Resources. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Cooks need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Operation Monitoring, and Quality Control Analysis.