Cooks, Restaurant · SOC 35-2014
Cooks, Restaurant Salary in the Texas
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Texas
Figures describe the state of Texas as a whole.
Cooks, Restaurant in the Texas earned a median of $34,760 per year ($16.71 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $23,330 at the 10th percentile to $42,810 at the 90th. BLS estimates 126,620 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Cooks, Restaurant in the Texas earn more than $34,760 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $28,540 and $37,030.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $23,330 | $28,540 | $34,760 | $37,030 | $42,810 |
| Hourly | $11.21 | $13.72 | $16.71 | $17.80 | $20.58 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Texas$34,760 median for Texas; middle half earns $28,540 to $37,030
- United Statesnational$37,390 median for United States; middle half earns $34,010 to $44,620
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −7% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in Texas
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for cooks, restaurant, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Texasthis page$34,760 median for Texas; middle half earns $28,540 to $37,030
- $36,810 median for Austin metro area; middle half earns $31,860 to $39,320
- $36,490 median for Dallas metro area; middle half earns $30,150 to $38,920
- $35,670 median for Midland metro area; middle half earns $29,330 to $38,470
- $35,050 median for Houston metro area; middle half earns $28,290 to $37,090
- $34,900 median for Odessa metro area; middle half earns $28,690 to $37,280
- $34,860 median for San Antonio metro area; middle half earns $29,030 to $36,260
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for cooks, restaurants · Highest-paying occupations in Texas
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.