Food Preparation
Cooks, Fast Food
SOC 35-2011
Cook standardized menu items quickly in a fast-food kitchen.
The job
Median pay
$31k
$27k to $37k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Stable
+0.6% projected
Openings a year
86k
BLS projection
Typical education
No formal credential
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
9/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
25th pct
More exposed than 25% of occupations · modeled estimate · 66th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
40/100
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 124,440 | 6.8 | 1.7× | $42k |
| North Carolina | 81,980 | 16.6 | 4.0× | $27k |
| Missouri | 55,780 | 19.0 | 4.6× | $30k |
| Texas | 36,240 | 2.6 | 0.6× | $28k |
| Alabama | 26,740 | 12.7 | 3.1× | $28k |
| Florida | 22,600 | 2.3 | 0.6× | $30k |
| Kentucky | 21,750 | 10.9 | 2.6× | $24k |
| West Virginia | 16,490 | 23.5 | 5.7× | $23k |
| Michigan | 14,340 | 3.3 | 0.8× | $29k |
| Tennessee | 14,020 | 4.3 | 1.0× | $28k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 13,729 | 3.8 | 0.9× | $38k~ |
| Illinois | 13,430 | 2.2 | 0.5× | $35k |
| Georgia | 12,940 | 2.6 | 0.6× | $27k |
| Virginia | 12,520 | 3.0 | 0.7× | $30k |
| Ohio | 12,310 | 2.2 | 0.5× | $27k |
| New York | 11,710 | 1.2 | 0.3× | $36k |
| Arizona | 11,210 | 3.5 | 0.8× | $33k |
| Mississippi | 11,170 | 9.6 | 2.3× | $23k |
| Maryland | 10,960 | 4.0 | 1.0× | $33k |
| Pennsylvania | 9,240 | 1.5 | 0.4× | $29k |
| Colorado | 9,220 | 3.2 | 0.8× | $37k |
| South Carolina | 9,110 | 4.0 | 1.0× | $27k |
| Washington | 9,020 | 2.5 | 0.6× | $39k |
| Oklahoma | 8,860 | 5.2 | 1.3× | $28k |
| Iowa | 8,290 | 5.3 | 1.3× | $29k |
| Arkansas | 7,860 | 6.0 | 1.5× | $28k |
| Wisconsin | 6,900 | 2.3 | 0.6× | $29k |
| Indiana | 6,830 | 2.1 | 0.5× | $30k |
| Nevada | 5,890 | 3.8 | 0.9× | $34k |
| Minnesota | 5,190 | 1.8 | 0.4× | $34k |
| Utah | 4,400 | 2.5 | 0.6× | $32k |
| Oregon | 4,300 | 2.2 | 0.5× | $38k |
| Hawaii | 3,874 | 6.2 | 1.5× | $48k~ |
| Connecticut | 3,630 | 2.1 | 0.5× | $35k |
| New Jersey | 3,440 | 0.8 | 0.2× | $32k |
| Louisiana | 3,000 | 1.6 | 0.4× | $25k |
| Nebraska | 2,900 | 2.8 | 0.7× | $30k |
| Washington DC | 2,760 | 3.9 | 0.9× | $45k |
| Alaska | 2,250 | 6.9 | 1.7× | $34k |
| New Mexico | 1,800 | 2.1 | 0.5× | $30k |
| South Dakota | 1,720 | 3.8 | 0.9× | $31k |
| Idaho | 1,610 | 1.9 | 0.5× | $31k |
| Kansas | 1,610 | 1.1 | 0.3× | $29k |
| Maine | 1,470 | 2.3 | 0.6× | $36k |
| New Hampshire | 1,330 | 1.9 | 0.5× | $39k |
| Rhode Island | 1,210 | 2.4 | 0.6× | $35k |
| Wyoming | 890 | 3.2 | 0.8× | $29k |
| Delaware | 850 | 1.8 | 0.4× | $32k |
| Montana | 820 | 1.6 | 0.4× | $27k |
| Vermont | 640 | 2.1 | 0.5× | $38k |
| North Dakota | 580 | 1.4 | 0.3× | $30k |
Top metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA48,440 jobs · $38k median
- St. Louis, MO-IL17,700 jobs · $31k median
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA16,910 jobs · $42k median
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC15,830 jobs · $28k median
- Kansas City, MO-KS13,850 jobs · $30k median
- Raleigh-Cary, NC11,500 jobs · $28k median
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA10,630 jobs · $42k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV10,580 jobs · $36k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Cooks, Fast Food interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.