Cooks, Short Order Career, Salary and Skills
Cooks, Short Order have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $35,880 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 138,650. Wage data is published for 288 locations.
Occupation description
Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. May take orders from customers and serve patrons at counters or tables.
O*NET code
35-2015.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$35,880
Hourly median
$17.25
Employment
138,650
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 3.12 | 2.38 |
| Active Listening | 3.12 | 2.38 |
| Time Management | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Coordination | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speaking | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| Service Orientation | 3.00 | 2.75 |
| Critical Thinking | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Monitoring | 2.88 | 2.62 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.62 | 2.50 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 2.62 | 2.25 |
Typical tasks
- Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.
- Restock kitchen supplies, rotate food, and stamp the time and date on food in coolers.
- Complete orders from steam tables, placing food on plates and serving customers at tables or counters.
- Plan work on orders so that items served together are finished at the same time.
- Grill, cook, and fry foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes.
- Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.
- Perform general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas.
- Take orders from customers and cook foods requiring short preparation times, according to customer requirements.
Technology
- Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants Pro
- Foodman Home-Delivery
- Inventory control software
- Plexis Software Plexis POS
- RestaurantPlus PRO
Cooks, Short Order salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in CAMedian $42,930 · Employment 30,740
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in NYMedian $35,550 · Employment 18,300
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $43,680 · Employment 12,410
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in New York, NYMedian $35,360 · Employment 9,990
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in TXMedian $25,320 · Employment 7,540
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in OHMedian $29,290 · Employment 6,000
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in FLMedian $34,240 · Employment 5,050
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in MAMedian $44,290 · Employment 4,760
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in Boston, MAMedian $39,600 · Employment 4,460
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in San Francisco, CAMedian $45,790 · Employment 4,430
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in GAMedian $26,870 · Employment 3,870
- Cooks, Short Order Salary in Washington, DCMedian $39,650 · Employment 3,850
Related careers
- Food Service ManagersNational median $69,390
- Graders and Sorters, Agricultural ProductsNational median $35,730
- Waiters and WaitressesNational median $35,230
- Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNational median $38,300
- Food BatchmakersNational median $42,290
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender HelpersNational median $33,980
- BaristasNational median $31,200
- Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and TendersNational median $44,810
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.