SOC 35-2014 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Cooks, Restaurant — Detroit
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI · 10 metro areas compared
At $37,410, median pay for Cooks, Restaurant in Detroit, MI tracks the national median of $37,390 closely.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow much faster than average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +14.9%
- Openings per year
- 250,700
- Typical entry-level education
- No formal educational credential
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI.
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 $37,410, median pay for Cooks, Restaurant in Detroit, MI tracks the national median of $37,390 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $35,570 and $43,440. The lowest tenth earn under $29,620, while the highest tenth earn more than $46,960.
Employment stands at 16,490, or 8.7 jobs per thousand held locally. Ann Arbor leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $38,290. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 605th of 671 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $29,620 | −20.8% |
| 25th | $35,570 | −4.9% |
| Median (50th) | $37,410 | +0.1% |
| 75th | $43,440 | +16.2% |
| 90th | $46,960 | +25.6% |
| Mean | $38,640 | +3.3% |
Other metro areas in Michigan
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ann Arbor | $38,290 | 1,600 | |
| 2 | Grand Rapids | $37,360 | 4,850 | |
| 3 | Traverse City | $37,270 | 1,060 | |
| 4 | Lansing | $37,100 | 1,850 | |
| 5 | Battle Creek | $37,000 | 520 | |
| 6 | Kalamazoo | $36,760 | 1,140 | |
| 7 | Jackson | $36,680 | 520 | |
| 8 | Niles | $36,610 | 840 | |
| 9 | Midland | $36,540 | 260 | |
| 10 | Flint | $36,350 | 1,330 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Detroit sit close to the national average, so $37,410 is worth roughly its face value against pay elsewhere.
Published median
$37,410as reported by BLSLocal price level
100.3US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$37,298US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $37,410 a year, 0.1% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $29,620 to $46,960 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 16,490 jobs in this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is Ann Arbor, at $38,290.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Detroit, MI?
The median annual wage is $37,410, or $17.98 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 $37,390, so pay in Detroit, MI is 0.1% 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 Detroit, MI earns more than $46,960 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $29,620 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 Ann Arbor, at $38,290 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 16,490 jobs in this occupation in Detroit, MI. 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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