Cooks, Fast Food Salary in Los Angeles, CA (2024)
Cooks, Fast Food in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area earn a median of $36,360 per year ($17.48 per hour) based on 55,760 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +20.6% against the national median of $30,160 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where cooks, fast food actually sit across the pay range in Los Angeles, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.11 | $35,580 | |
| 25th percentile | $17.22 | $35,810 | |
| Median | $17.48 | $36,360 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $17.80 | $37,020 | |
| 90th percentile | $21.39 | $44,490 | |
| Average (mean) | $18.26 | $37,970 |
How Los Angeles, CA compares
The local median of $36,360 runs +20.6% above the US median of $30,160 for this occupation; it pays 32.0% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($53,490); within the metro it ranks 712th of 733 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA — this occupation | $36,360 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $30,160 | +20.6% |
| Los Angeles, CA — all occupations | $53,490 | -32.0% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $41,980 | -13.4% |
Los Angeles, CA has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.08 means the job is roughly 208% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 1.4%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 712th of 733 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Los Angeles, CA
To put $36,360 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 712th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $235,930 | — |
| Chief Executives | $231,500 | 12,420 |
| Lawyers | $205,900 | 40,990 |
| Podiatrists | $193,510 | 370 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $191,410 | 24,260 |
| Nurse Midwives | $190,230 | 190 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $181,400 | 8,850 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $179,990 | — |
| Commercial Pilots | $177,300 | 2,110 |
| Dentists, General | $176,200 | 4,300 |
Where cooks, fast food earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $22,710 to $41,980. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $41,980 | 10,540 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $40,580 | 2,580 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $38,830 | 4,380 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $37,730 | 3,940 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $36,360 | 55,760 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $35,730 | 12,450 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $35,360 | 10,190 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $35,140 | 4,110 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $35,110 | 17,370 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $34,180 | 17,550 |
See the full national picture on the Cooks, Fast Food salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for cooks, fast food in Los Angeles, CA?
The median annual wage is $36,360, or $17 per hour. That means half of the cooks, fast food working in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $37,970.
What do the highest and lowest paid cooks, fast food in Los Angeles, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $35,580 or less, while the top 10% earn $44,490 or more — a spread of $8,910 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $35,810 and $37,020.
Is cooks, fast food pay in Los Angeles, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 32.0% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $53,490. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Los Angeles, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $36,360 the metro median is 20.6% higher than the US median of $30,160 for cooks, fast food. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $22,710 to $41,980.
How many cooks, fast food work in Los Angeles, CA?
BLS counts about 55,760 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 8.99 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. Los Angeles, CA has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.08 means the job is roughly 208% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 11.7%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.