Cooks, Short Order · SOC 35-2015
Cooks, Short Order Salary in the Tennessee
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Tennessee
Figures describe the state of Tennessee as a whole.
Cooks, Short Order in the Tennessee earned a median of $30,210 per year ($14.52 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $22,880 at the 10th percentile to $39,240 at the 90th. BLS estimates 2,510 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Cooks, Short Order in the Tennessee earn more than $30,210 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $26,780 and $36,350.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $22,880 | $26,780 | $30,210 | $36,350 | $39,240 |
| Hourly | $11.00 | $12.88 | $14.52 | $17.48 | $18.86 |
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
- Tennessee$30,210 median for Tennessee; middle half earns $26,780 to $36,350
- United Statesnational$35,880 median for United States; middle half earns $30,610 to $42,450
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −16% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in Tennessee
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for cooks, short order, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Tennesseethis page$30,210 median for Tennessee; middle half earns $26,780 to $36,350
- $37,830 median for Nashville-Davidson metro area; middle half earns $31,300 to $39,260
- $30,510 median for Kingsport metro area; middle half earns $26,740 to $35,770
- $30,210 median for Knoxville metro area; middle half earns $25,710 to $36,190
- $30,170 median for Clarksville metro area; middle half earns $24,210 to $35,640
- $29,950 median for Chattanooga metro area; middle half earns $24,710 to $35,060
- $29,880 median for Memphis metro area; middle half earns $27,920 to $34,680
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, short orders · Highest-paying occupations in Tennessee
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.