Cook, Institution and Cafeteria Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria earn a median of $37,450 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 27% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $18.01/hr. The middle half earn between $32,440 and $44,800. The top 10% earn $49,670 or more.

The median hourly wage for cooks, institution and cafeteria is $18.01 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $37,450 annual median works out to about $3,120 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of cooks, institution and cafeteria earn less than $28,480 a year and the bottom quarter less than $32,440 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

The highest state medians for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria are Washington ($49,670), Alaska ($48,580), Massachusetts ($47,790) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Alaska moves to the top at $47,460.

BLS does not split cooks, institution and cafeteria' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $49,670, against a median of $37,450 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Washington ($49,670), Alaska ($48,580), Massachusetts ($47,790).

No. BLS lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry requirement for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as some preparation. BLS also lists short-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 71.1% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for cooks is no formal educational credential. Once hired, BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing some preparation.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.8% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 62,900 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Cooks season and prepare foods, including soups, salads, entrees, and desserts. A core O*NET task: monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety. Employers most often ask for Spreadsheet software, Word processing software.

A 40-hour week is the most common pattern, though not a majority. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 16% of cooks, institution and cafeteria usually work more than 40 hours a week, 42% work exactly 40 and 41% work fewer. 95% say their schedule is regular and 6% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria highest on the Realistic, Conventional and Social interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, ESTJ, ISFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 43.7% of cooks, institution and cafeteria, close to their 47.1% share of all employed people. Only 16.9% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs): a young workforce, with 29.8% under 25. The median worker is 34.7 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages, for the Census group "Cooks".