SalaryExplorer

SOC 35-2014 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Cooks, Restaurant — Sheboygan

Sheboygan, WI · 10 metro areas compared

$35,360 /year
$17.00per hour
450jobs in area
−5.4%vs US median

The median wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Sheboygan, WI is $35,360 per year, close to the national median of $37,390 for the same occupation.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $37,39010TH$26,74025TH$30,430MEDIAN$35,36075TH$38,33090TH$44,750

How pay has moved

$38,803$25,5882019202020212022202320242025$35,360
$27,790 in 2019 to $35,360 in 2025, +27.2% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

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 Sheboygan, WI.

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, Restaurant in Sheboygan, WI is $35,360 per year, close to the national median of $37,390 for the same occupation. Pay ranges from under $26,740 at the tenth percentile to more than $44,750 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $30,430 to $38,330.

The area has 450 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 7.4 of every thousand jobs. Madison leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $38,440. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 225th of 244 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Sheboygan, WI · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$26,740−28.5%
25th$30,430−18.6%
Median (50th)$35,360−5.4%
75th$38,330+2.5%
90th$44,750+19.7%
Mean$35,470−5.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Wisconsin

Median annual wage for Cooks, Restaurant, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Madison$38,4403,190
2Milwaukee$37,1807,220
3Green Bay$36,7601,620
4Kenosha$36,730640
5Appleton$36,5201,060
6Oshkosh$36,500700
7La Crosse$36,260860
8Wausau$36,180530
9Janesville$35,920640
10Racine$35,800600

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Sheboygan run 6.0% below the national average, so the median of $35,360 goes as far as $37,617 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 0.6% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$35,360as reported by BLS

Local price level

94.0US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$37,617US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $35,360 a year, 5.4% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $26,740 to $44,750 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 450 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Madison, at $38,440.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Cooks, Restaurant in Sheboygan, WI?

The median annual wage is $35,360, or $17.00 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 Sheboygan, WI is 5.4% 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 Sheboygan, WI earns more than $44,750 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $26,740 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 Madison, at $38,440 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 450 jobs in this occupation in Sheboygan, WI. 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.

Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Sheboygan, WI (2025): $35,360 Median | Salary Explorer