SOC 35-2014 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Cooks, Restaurant — Illinois
Illinois · 8 metro areas compared
At $37,580, median pay for Cooks, Restaurant in Illinois 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 Illinois.
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 $37,580, median pay for Cooks, Restaurant in Illinois tracks the national median of $37,390 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $35,360 and $45,010. The lowest tenth earn under $31,200, while the highest tenth earn more than $46,460.
The area has 53,540 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.97 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Among the 51 states with published data for this occupation, Illinois ranks 21st by median wage. Chicago leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $38,930. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 683rd of 747 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $31,200 | −16.6% |
| 25th | $35,360 | −5.4% |
| Median (50th) | $37,580 | +0.5% |
| 75th | $45,010 | +20.4% |
| 90th | $46,460 | +24.3% |
| Mean | $39,520 | +5.7% |
Highest-paying metro areas in Illinois
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | $38,930 | 41,690 | |
| 2 | Springfield | $36,550 | 850 | |
| 3 | Decatur | $36,440 | 320 | |
| 4 | Rockford | $36,200 | 1,130 | |
| 5 | Champaign | $36,040 | 970 | |
| 6 | Peoria | $36,040 | 1,420 | |
| 7 | Kankakee | $35,560 | 320 | |
| 8 | Bloomington | $35,310 | 850 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Illinois sit close to the national average, so $37,580 is worth roughly its face value against pay elsewhere.
Published median
$37,580as reported by BLSLocal price level
100.0US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$37,580US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $37,580 a year, 0.5% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $31,200 to $46,460 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 53,540 jobs in this occupation.
- It ranks 21st of 51 states for this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is Chicago, at $38,930.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Illinois?
The median annual wage is $37,580, or $18.07 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 Illinois is 0.5% 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 Illinois earns more than $46,460 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $31,200 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 Chicago, at $38,930 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 53,540 jobs in this occupation in Illinois. 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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