Cooks

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2020 Workforce

2.26M

Average Age

35.7

Average Salary

$19,573

Average Male Salary

$20,658

Average Female Salary

$18,003

About

Cooks are most often employed by the Restaurants & Food Services industry. The average yearly wage for Cooks was $19,573 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Cooks by wage are Crossing guards, Library assistants, clerical, and Food servers, nonrestaurant.

Cooks are part of the Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, along with Chefs & head cooks, Firstline supervisors of food preparation & serving workers, Cooks, Food preparation workers, Bartenders, and 7 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Cooks are Paradise (Northwest) & Winchester PUMA, NV, Westpark Tollway, Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX, and Las Vegas City (South Central) PUMA, NV. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Cooks are Westpark Tollway, Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX, Paradise (Northwest) & Winchester PUMA, NV, and LA City (Central/Koreatown) PUMA, CA.

Service 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 Machinery manufacturing, n.e.c. or not specified. Cooks are paid most in Manatee County (South) PUMA, FL but are relatively concentrated in Westpark Tollway, Between Loop I-610 & Beltway TX-8 PUMA, TX.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$19,573

AVERAGE SALARY

± $319

In 2020, Cooks earned an average of $19,573, $36,381 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Library assistants, clerical make somewhat more than Cooks while Crossing guards make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Cooks as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.366

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Cooks had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.366, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Cooks (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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.

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.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Cooks, by number of employees, are Restaurants & Food Services, Elementary & secondary schools, Nursing Care Facilities, Traveler accommodation, Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores, Amusement & Recreation, Residential care facilities, except skilled nursing facilities, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Gasoline stations, and Child day care services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Cooks, by average wage, are Machinery manufacturing, n.e.c. or not specified, Water transportation, and Dairy product manufacturing.

Industries by Share

2.26M

2020 Workforce

± 36,665

−2.98%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.34%

The number of people employed as Cooks has been declining at a rate of −2.98%, from 2,334,410 people in 2019 to 2,264,831 people in 2020.

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 6.11% and Nursing Care Facilities with 2.26%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Cooks in the US. The average age of male Cooks in the workforce is 32.5 and of female Cooks is 40.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Cooks is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

1.34M

MALE WORKFORCE

± 28,279

926k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 23,552

59.1% of Cooks are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Cooks.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Cooks

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

42.2% of Cooks are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 17.1% 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.

Age by Sex

32.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.281

40.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.389

The median age of Cooks is 35.7, and Male employees are generally 7.95 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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

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 Active Learning. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Cooks need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Operation Monitoring, and Quality Control Analysis.