Restaurant Cooks in North Carolina

Considering a career as a Restaurant Cook in North Carolina?

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

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

• Restaurant Cooks in North Carolina 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 North Carolina?

In North Carolina, there were 47,350 people working as Restaurant Cooks in the year 2018.

There were 44,850 Restaurant Cooks employed in this state in 2017.

That’s growth of 2,500 jobs between 2017 and 2018.

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

Job Projections for North Carolina

Jobs for Restaurant Cooks in this state are growing at a rate of 15.7% which is faster than the nationwide estimated projection of 11.8%.

North Carolina Annual Job Openings

The BLS estimates there will be 6,960 annual job openings, and 48,770 total jobs in 2026 for Restaurant Cooks in this state.

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

What do Restaurant Cooks Make in North Carolina?

In 2018 wages for Restaurant Cooks ranged from $17,440 to $34,800 with $23,630 being the median annual salary.

Broken down to an hourly rate, workers in this field made anywhere from $8.39 to $16.73. The median hourly rate was $11.36.

Workers in this field were paid a median of $10.74 an hour in 2017.

The hourly rate grew by $0.62.

The median salary in North Carolina is higher than the nationwide median salary.

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Top North Carolina 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
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	13,740	$24,870
Raleigh, NC	7,130	$26,610
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	6,660	$24,320
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	4,510	$23,570
Greensboro-High Point, NC	3,610	$22,420
Asheville, NC	2,980	$24,420
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	2,660	$26,750
Winston-Salem, NC	2,430	$22,350
Wilmington, NC	1,830	$24,140
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	1,420	$22,340
Greenville, NC	1,230	$22,760
Fayetteville, NC	1,070	$22,910
Jacksonville, NC	690	$22,350
Rocky Mount, NC	650	$20,800
Burlington, NC	500	$19,700
Goldsboro, NC	480	$20,140
New Bern, NC	330	$21,510

Top States for Restaurant Cooks Employment

View the list below to see 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 North Carolina

Discover similar careers:

Occupation	North Carolina Employment Total
Cooks, Fast Food	10,720
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	8,620
Cooks, Short Order	2,970

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.