Restaurant Cooks in Kentucky

Get the information you need to know about working as a Restaurant Cook.

You’re in luck! Jobs for Restaurant Cooks in Kentucky are projected to grow and these jobs tend to pay higher than average.

• Projected employment for Restaurant Cooks in Kentucky is growing faster than average.

• Restaurant Cooks in Kentucky earn lower salaries than the typical U.S. wage earner.

What Major Will Prepare You For a Restaurant Cook Career?

• Personal & Culinary Services
• Culinary Arts
• General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts
• Culinary Arts/Chef Training

How Many Restaurant Cooks Work in Kentucky?

19,890 people worked as Restaurant Cooks in 2018 in this state.

There were 19,050 Restaurant Cooks employed in this state in 2017.

That’s growth of 840 jobs between 2017 and 2018.

The typical state has 17,110 Restaurant Cooks working in it, which means Kentucky has more Restaurant Cooks than average.

Job Projections for Kentucky

Jobs for Restaurant Cooks in this state are growing at a rate of 10.7% which is slower than the nationwide estimated projection of 11.8%.

Kentucky Annual Job Openings

The BLS is projecting 2,500 annual Restaurant Cooks job openings in Kentucky, and 17,660 total jobs in the year 2026.

Nationwide, the prediction is 195,300 annual jobs and 1,377,200 total jobs in 2026.

What do Restaurant Cooks Make in Kentucky?

In 2018 wages for Restaurant Cooks ranged from $16,980 to $30,950 with $21,570 being the median annual salary.

Broken down to an hourly rate, workers in this field made anywhere from $8.16 to $14.88. The median hourly rate was $10.37.

In 2017 the median pay for this field was $10.08 an hour.

The hourly rate grew by $0.29.

The median salary in Kentucky is higher than the nationwide median salary.

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Top Kentucky Metros for Restaurant Cooks

The table below shows some of the metros in this state with the most Restaurant Cooks.

Metro	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	9,420	$23,760
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	7,660	$23,960
Lexington-Fayette, KY	2,940	$20,320
Evansville, IN-KY	1,460	$23,470
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH	1,410	$22,250
Bowling Green, KY	660	$20,470
Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY	610	$23,360
Clarksville, TN-KY	610	$21,440
Owensboro, KY	300	$19,310

Top States for Restaurant Cooks Employment

The table below shows the states where most Restaurant Cooks work.

State	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
California	166,420	$29,130
Florida	110,600	$26,960
Texas	110,440	$24,980
New York	73,340	$28,100
Pennsylvania	55,980	$25,290
Illinois	48,660	$27,350
North Carolina	47,350	$23,630
Georgia	37,770	$23,430
Ohio	37,220	$24,730
Michigan	37,160	$24,120
Virginia	33,380	$24,930
Colorado	32,910	$28,460
Washington	32,510	$31,950
Massachusetts	29,880	$30,720
Missouri	28,990	$24,150
Minnesota	28,480	$28,810
Indiana	27,890	$23,350
Arizona	25,570	$26,950
Wisconsin	24,540	$25,150
South Carolina	24,430	$22,840

Below are the states where Restaurant Cooks get paid the most:

State	Annual Median Salary
District of Columbia	$32,580
Washington	$31,950
New Jersey	$30,870
Hawaii	$30,830
Massachusetts	$30,720
Vermont	$30,620
Rhode Island	$30,130
Nevada	$30,060
Alaska	$29,270
Connecticut	$29,170

Related Careers in Kentucky

You may also be interested in the following careers:

Occupation	Kentucky Employment Total
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	10,770
Cooks, Fast Food	6,840
Cooks, Short Order	630

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By U.S. Army Europe Images under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.