---

Cooks, Restaurant in Washington

Thinking about a career as a Cooks, Restaurant in Washington? Below are the key facts. Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

What do Cooks, Restaurant Make in Washington?

For a cooks, restaurant working in Washington, the median annual wage is $44,980 per year (or roughly $21.63/hour).Pay can range from $36,280 at the 10th percentile to $56,080 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$36,280	$17.44
25th percentile	$38,360	$18.44
Median (50th)	$44,980	$21.63
75th percentile	$47,180	$22.68
90th percentile	$56,080	$26.96

The job concentration index in Washington compared to the national average — is 1.04.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, cooks, restaurant earn a median of $41,438 per year ($19.92/hour), exceeding the Washington median.

Employment Outlook

There are roughly 1,741,328 cooks, restaurant in the U.S.. In Washington alone, about 34,790 people work in this role. That’s higher than the typical state, which employs around 18,370 cooks, restaurant.

Top Washington Metros for Cooks, Restaurant

The metro areas below employ the most cooks, restaurant in Washington.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	19,820	$46,180
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	2,650	$37,710
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	1,170	$39,170
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	1,150	$44,000
Kennewick-Richland, WA	1,130	$39,340
Bellingham, WA	1,110	$41,240
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA	730	$42,360
Yakima, WA	730	$37,850
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	630	$43,320
Longview-Kelso, WA	340	$37,470
Walla Walla, WA	290	$36,950

Top States for Cooks, Restaurant Employment

These states have the highest employment of cooks, restaurant work.

State	Number Employed
California	160,270
Florida	134,480
Texas	125,880
New York	62,430
Illinois	61,630
Pennsylvania	54,830
North Carolina	50,400
Ohio	49,880
Georgia	49,320
Virginia	41,010
Michigan	37,860
Washington	34,790
Arizona	34,740
Colorado	33,920
Massachusetts	31,640
New Jersey	30,720
Missouri	28,390
Indiana	27,640
Tennessee	27,300
Minnesota	26,900

Highest-Paying States for Cooks, Restaurant

Where cooks, restaurant earn the most: cooks, restaurant.

State	Annual Median Salary
Massachusetts	$46,280
District of Columbia	$45,230
Washington	$44,980
Maine	$44,870
Hawaii	$44,710
Vermont	$44,560
California	$44,290
New York	$39,890
Colorado	$39,170
New Hampshire	$39,050

Skills

The most important cooks, restaurant skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Important knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Top abilities for cooks, restaurant, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Day-to-day, cooks, restaurant typically:

• Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
• Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
• Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.
• Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock.
• Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience.
• Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen staff.
• Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
• Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using various kitchen utensils and equipment.
• Turn or stir foods to ensure even cooking.
• Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with utensils.
• Substitute for or assist other cooks during emergencies or rush periods.
• Wash, peel, cut, and seed fruits and vegetables to prepare them for consumption.

Work Activities

• Handling and Moving Objects
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Getting Information
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
• Processing Information
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Training and Teaching Others
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Tools & Technology

Technologies frequently used: Hot technologies: Facebook

What Major Will Prepare You For This Career?

Programs that train for this career include:

• Culinary Arts

Related Careers

Careers similar to cooks, restaurant include:

• Food Service Managers
• Chefs and Head Cooks
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
• Cooks, Fast Food
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
• Cooks, Private Household

Also Known As

Back Line Cook, Back of House Team Member (BOH Team Member), Banquet Cook, Breakfast Cook, Broiler Cook, Chef De Partie, Cook, Foreign Food Specialty Cook, Fry Cook, Grill Cook, Hotel and Restaurant Cook, Larder Cook, Line Cook, Pizza Maker, Prep Cook (Preparation Cook).

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 35-2014.00