Cooks, Fast Food Salary in San Diego, CA (2024)
Cooks, Fast Food in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn a median of $35,730 per year ($17.18 per hour) based on 12,450 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +18.5% 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 San Diego, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.67 | $34,680 | |
| 25th percentile | $16.91 | $35,170 | |
| Median | $17.18 | $35,730 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $18.13 | $37,710 | |
| 90th percentile | $21.37 | $44,450 | |
| Average (mean) | $18.06 | $37,560 |
How San Diego, CA compares
The local median of $35,730 runs +18.5% above the US median of $30,160 for this occupation; it pays 36.9% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($56,580); within the metro it ranks 639th of 653 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego, CA — this occupation | $35,730 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $30,160 | +18.5% |
| San Diego, CA — all occupations | $56,580 | -36.9% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $41,980 | -14.9% |
At a location quotient of 1.87, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 187% of the national share of these workers.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 1.8%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 639th of 653 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in San Diego, CA
To put $35,730 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 639th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,840 | 50 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $215,010 | 170 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $205,650 | 180 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $199,590 | 2,630 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $193,370 | 7,620 |
| Podiatrists | $187,010 | 60 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $185,550 | 3,690 |
| Dentists, General | $176,970 | 1,950 |
| Marketing Managers | $171,590 | 4,390 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $169,230 | 3,200 |
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 San Diego, CA?
The median annual wage is $35,730, or $17 per hour. That means half of the cooks, fast food working in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $37,560.
What do the highest and lowest paid cooks, fast food in San Diego, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $34,680 or less, while the top 10% earn $44,450 or more — a spread of $9,770 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $35,170 and $37,710.
Is cooks, fast food pay in San Diego, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 36.9% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $56,580. 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 San Diego, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $35,730 the metro median is 18.5% 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 San Diego, CA?
BLS counts about 12,450 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 8.12 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. At a location quotient of 1.87, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 187% of the national share of these workers.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 12.5%). 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.