Cooks, Fast Food — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$30,890
United States, 2025
Employment
641,070
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Prepare dough, following recipe.
- 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.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$22,580
25th percentile
$27,260
75th percentile
$37,260
90th percentile
$42,910
Most important skills
- Service Orientation3.1
- Active Listening3.0
- Speaking2.9
- Reading Comprehension2.8
- Coordination2.8
- Monitoring2.6
- Critical Thinking2.6
- Time Management2.5
- Social Perceptiveness2.5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.4
- Operations Monitoring2.3
- Writing2.1
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 2 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
2
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 3.0 | 2.5 | Not selected | 2.5 |
| Service Orientation | 3.1 | 2.4 | Not selected | 2.4 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
National median $35,730
Compare with Cooks, Fast FoodSupplemental
National median $38,300
Compare with Cooks, Fast FoodSupplemental
National median $33,980
Compare with Cooks, Fast FoodSupplemental
National median $44,810
Compare with Cooks, Fast FoodHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| HI | $48,120 | — | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $47,220 | 4,790 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $46,670 | 10,160 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $45,300 | 370 | 2025 |
| DC | $44,670 | 2,760 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $44,450 | 1,150 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $44,030 | 5,190 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $43,840 | 1,050 | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $43,630 | 710 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $43,120 | 1,100 | 2025 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $42,700 | 1,430 | 2025 |
| Oxnard, CA | $42,530 | 2,520 | 2025 |
| Modesto, CA | $42,510 | 1,620 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $42,480 | 16,910 | 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | $42,450 | 10,630 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $42,390 | 850 | 2025 |
| Yuba City, CA | $42,320 | 390 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $42,210 | 8,020 | 2025 |
| CA | $42,050 | 124,440 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $41,600 | — | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Cooks, Fast Food to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.