Cooks, Fast Food Career, Salary and Skills
Cooks, Fast Food have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $30,890 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 641,070. Wage data is published for 361 locations.
Occupation description
Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.
O*NET code
35-2011.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
Not recorded
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$30,890
Hourly median
$14.85
Employment
641,070
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Service Orientation | 3.12 | 2.38 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| Speaking | 2.88 | 2.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | 2.75 | 2.38 |
| Coordination | 2.75 | 2.25 |
| Critical Thinking | 2.62 | 2.12 |
| Monitoring | 2.62 | 2.12 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| Time Management | 2.50 | 2.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 2.38 | 2.00 |
Typical tasks
- Order and take delivery of supplies.
- Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions.
- Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
- Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils.
- Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles.
- Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
- Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously.
- Prepare dough, following recipe.
Technology
- Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants Pro
- Foodman Home-Delivery
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Word
- Plexis Software Plexis POS
- RestaurantPlus PRO
Cooks, Fast Food salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in CAMedian $42,050 · Employment 124,440
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in NCMedian $27,190 · Employment 81,980
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in MOMedian $29,890 · Employment 55,780
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $38,000 · Employment 48,440
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in TXMedian $28,280 · Employment 36,240
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in ALMedian $27,870 · Employment 26,740
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in FLMedian $29,900 · Employment 22,600
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in KYMedian $23,500 · Employment 21,750
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in St. Louis, MOMedian $30,860 · Employment 17,700
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in Riverside, CAMedian $42,480 · Employment 16,910
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in WVMedian $23,120 · Employment 16,490
- Cooks, Fast Food Salary in Charlotte, NCMedian $27,690 · Employment 15,830
Related careers
- Graders and Sorters, Agricultural ProductsNational median $35,730
- Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNational median $38,300
- Waiters and WaitressesNational median $35,230
- Food Service ManagersNational median $69,390
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender HelpersNational median $33,980
- DishwashersNational median $34,810
- Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and TendersNational median $44,810
- Food Servers, NonrestaurantNational median $35,360
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.