Cooks, Fast Food Salary in Riverside, CA (2024)
Cooks, Fast Food in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area earn a median of $35,110 per year ($16.88 per hour) based on 17,370 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +16.4% 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 Riverside, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.21 | $33,720 | |
| 25th percentile | $16.46 | $34,230 | |
| Median | $16.88 | $35,110 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $20.66 | $42,970 | |
| 90th percentile | $21.03 | $43,740 | |
| Average (mean) | $18.05 | $37,550 |
How Riverside, CA compares
The local median of $35,110 runs +16.4% above the US median of $30,160 for this occupation; it pays 27.2% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($48,240); within the metro it ranks 643rd of 664 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside, CA — this occupation | $35,110 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $30,160 | +16.4% |
| Riverside, CA — all occupations | $48,240 | -27.2% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $41,980 | -16.4% |
Riverside, CA has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.36 means the job is roughly 236% 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 2.1%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 643rd of 664 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Riverside, CA
To put $35,110 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 643rd.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Family Medicine Physicians | $234,800 | — |
| Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary | $214,870 | 150 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $203,180 | — |
| Nurse Midwives | $201,870 | 60 |
| Chief Executives | $197,190 | 2,070 |
| Economics Teachers, Postsecondary | $186,670 | 60 |
| Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | $185,030 | 130 |
| Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | $181,960 | 70 |
| Podiatrists | $178,040 | 80 |
| Communications Teachers, Postsecondary | $173,360 | 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 Riverside, CA?
The median annual wage is $35,110, or $17 per hour. That means half of the cooks, fast food working in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $37,550.
What do the highest and lowest paid cooks, fast food in Riverside, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $33,720 or less, while the top 10% earn $43,740 or more — a spread of $10,020 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $34,230 and $42,970.
Is cooks, fast food pay in Riverside, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 27.2% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $48,240. 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 Riverside, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $35,110 the metro median is 16.4% 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 Riverside, CA?
BLS counts about 17,370 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 10.25 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. Riverside, CA has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.36 means the job is roughly 236% 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 8.5%). 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.