SOC 35-2011 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Cooks, Fast Food — Durham
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC · 10 metro areas compared
At $29,190, median pay for Cooks, Fast Food in Durham, NC tracks the national median of $30,890 closely.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to decline
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- -13.5%
- Openings per year
- 82,100
- Typical entry-level education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Durham-Chapel Hill, NC.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
At $29,190, median pay for Cooks, Fast Food in Durham, NC tracks the national median of $30,890 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $26,870 and $30,290. The lowest tenth earn under $23,260, while the highest tenth earn more than $35,610.
The area has 4,520 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 3.18 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Raleigh leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $28,220. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 446th of 453 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $23,260 | −24.7% |
| 25th | $26,870 | −13.0% |
| Median (50th) | $29,190 | −5.5% |
| 75th | $30,290 | −1.9% |
| 90th | $35,610 | +15.3% |
| Mean | $29,290 | −5.2% |
Other metro areas in North Carolina
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raleigh | $28,220 | 11,500 | |
| 2 | Asheville | $28,120 | 2,570 | |
| 3 | Greensboro | $27,880 | 6,850 | |
| 4 | Charlotte | $27,690 | 15,830 | |
| 5 | Hickory | $27,550 | 2,650 | |
| 6 | Wilmington | $27,500 | 3,880 | |
| 7 | Burlington | $27,450 | 1,680 | |
| 8 | Winston-Salem | $27,280 | 6,120 | |
| 9 | Pinehurst | $26,610 | 730 | |
| 10 | Rocky Mount | $23,710 | 1,260 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Durham run 2.4% below the national average, so the median of $29,190 goes as far as $29,908 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 3.2% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$29,190as reported by BLSLocal price level
97.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$29,908US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $29,190 a year, 5.5% below the national median.
- Published pay spans $23,260 to $35,610 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 4,520 jobs in this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is Raleigh, at $28,220.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Cooks, Fast Food in Durham, NC?
The median annual wage is $29,190, or $14.04 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $30,890, so pay in Durham, NC is 5.5% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in Durham, NC earns more than $35,610 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $23,260 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
Which area nearby pays the most?
The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Raleigh, at $28,220 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 4,520 jobs in this occupation in Durham, NC. Self-employed workers are not included.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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