SOC 35-2015 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Cooks, Short Order — Great Falls
Great Falls, MT
In Great Falls, MT the median wage is $32,370.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
The next ten years
Projected to decline
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- -5.6%
- Openings per year
- 20,600
- 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 Great Falls, MT.
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
In Great Falls, MT the median wage is $32,370. That is 9.8% lower than the national median of $35,880. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $26,650 and $32,370. The lowest tenth earn under $26,650, while the highest tenth earn more than $32,370.
Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 196th of 212 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $26,650 | −25.7% |
| 25th | $26,650 | −25.7% |
| Median (50th) | $32,370 | −9.8% |
| 75th | $32,370 | −9.8% |
| 90th | $32,370 | −9.8% |
| Mean | $30,950 | −13.7% |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Great Falls run 3.2% below the national average, so the median of $32,370 goes as far as $33,440 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 6.8% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$32,370as reported by BLSLocal price level
96.8US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$33,440US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $32,370 a year, 9.8% below the national median.
- Published pay spans $26,650 to $32,370 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Cooks, Short Order in Great Falls, MT?
The median annual wage is $32,370, or $15.56 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 $35,880, so pay in Great Falls, MT is 9.8% 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 Great Falls, MT earns more than $32,370 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $26,650 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.
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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