SOC 35-2011 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Cooks, Fast Food — El Centro
El Centro, CA · 10 metro areas compared
The median wage for Cooks, Fast Food in El Centro, CA is $40,230 per year, well above the national median of $30,890.
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 El Centro, CA.
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
The median wage for Cooks, Fast Food in El Centro, CA is $40,230 per year, well above the national median of $30,890. The gap of 30.2% is among the widest recorded for this occupation. Pay ranges from under $36,480 at the tenth percentile to more than $42,490 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $38,150 to $41,860.
Employment stands at 330, or 5.1 jobs per thousand held locally. San Jose leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $47,220. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 186th of 228 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $36,480 | +18.1% |
| 25th | $38,150 | +23.5% |
| Median (50th) | $40,230 | +30.2% |
| 75th | $41,860 | +35.5% |
| 90th | $42,490 | +37.6% |
| Mean | $40,360 | +30.7% |
Other metro areas in California
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose | $47,220 | 4,790 | |
| 2 | San Francisco | $46,670 | 10,160 | |
| 3 | Napa | $45,300 | 370 | |
| 4 | Vallejo | $44,450 | 1,150 | |
| 5 | Santa Rosa | $43,840 | 1,050 | |
| 6 | Santa Cruz | $43,630 | 710 | |
| 7 | Salinas | $43,120 | 1,100 | |
| 8 | Santa Maria | $42,700 | 1,430 | |
| 9 | Oxnard | $42,530 | 2,520 | |
| 10 | Modesto | $42,510 | 1,620 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in El Centro run 4.8% below the national average, so the median of $40,230 goes as far as $42,258 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 36.8% above the national median in real terms.
Published median
$40,230as reported by BLSLocal price level
95.2US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$42,258US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $40,230 a year, 30.2% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $36,480 to $42,490 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 330 jobs in this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is San Jose, at $47,220.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Cooks, Fast Food in El Centro, CA?
The median annual wage is $40,230, or $19.34 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 El Centro, CA is 30.2% higher. 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 El Centro, CA earns more than $42,490 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $36,480 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 San Jose, at $47,220 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 330 jobs in this occupation in El Centro, CA. 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.
Explore related data