Food Cooks: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Food Cooks

Career and Education Info

Job Numbers and Growth

The count of food cooks working in the US is about 16,000. Unemployment for this career is very high compared to other careers.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

A government survey revealed that 30% of employees work only part of the time. Food cooks who work as their own boss represent 1% of the total.

Training and Education

Many employers require moderate-term on-the-job training from job applicants. Bachelor's degrees are held by 5% of employees. People with some college experience but no degree make up 19% of food cooks. The highest level of education for for 77% of workers was a high school diploma. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which, if any, could help you with this career.

Area Job Conditions

There are comparatively more jobs of this type in Houma (Louisiana), Champaign (Illinois), and Lake Charles (Louisiana), and comparatively fewer in Atlanta (Georgia), Kansas City (Missouri), and Edison (New Jersey).

The earning potential for food cooks appears to be highest in Oakland (California), Nassau (New York), and Champaign (Illinois), and lowest (comparatively speaking) in Montgomery (Alabama), Akron (Ohio), and Lake Charles (Louisiana).

Food Cooks: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Food Cooks, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Food Cooks are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Food Cooks are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Montgomery	120	$19,980	10.7
Arizona	Phoenix	330	$23,330	2.6
California	Fresno	170	$24,190	7.6
California	Oakland	150	$34,170	2.1
California	Riverside	150	$22,890	1.7
California	Sacramento	140	$24,910	2.3
California	San Diego	160	$26,500	1.7
California	San Francisco	280	$27,830	4.1
California	San Jose	80	$27,730	1.3
California	Santa Ana	170	$25,740	1.6
Colorado	Denver	130	$27,710	1.5
Connecticut	Bridgeport	130	$32,970	4.4
Connecticut	Hartford	40	$21,790	1
Connecticut	New Haven	40	$22,600	2.1
District of Columbia	Washington	120	$31,170	0.8
Florida	Tampa	70	$24,730	0.8
Georgia	Atlanta	110	$28,890	0.7
Illinois	Champaign	150	$29,670	25.4
Illinois	Chicago	920	$27,150	3.5
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	110	$20,360	4.4
Louisiana	Houma	250	$26,000	41.8
Louisiana	Lake Charles	90	$16,900	16.6
Louisiana	New Orleans	220	$22,460	6.4
Maryland	Baltimore	100	$30,030	1.1
Maryland	Bethesda	100	$29,110	2.6
Massachusetts	Boston	210	$36,480	1.8
Missouri	Kansas City	30	$25,180	0.4
Missouri	St Louis	160	$25,650	1.7
Nevada	Las Vegas	170	$27,310	2.7
Nevada	Reno	50	$25,660	3.6
New Hampshire	Nashua	80	$25,640	8.9
New Jersey	Edison	30	$26,830	0.4
New Jersey	Newark	250	$23,180	3.6
New York	Nassau	320	$30,990	3.7
New York	New York	790	$26,060	2.2
New York	Syracuse	40	$26,260	1.9
Ohio	Akron	80	$20,790	3.5
Ohio	Cincinnati	210	$21,780	2.9
Ohio	Cleveland	310	$23,240	4.3
Ohio	Columbus	200	$23,470	3.1
Washington	Olympia	40	$25,940	6.8
Washington	Tacoma	100	$22,390	5.6