Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Baltimore, MD (2024)
Cooks, Restaurant in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area earn a median of $36,690 per year ($17.64 per hour) based on 8,640 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is -0.4% against the national median of $36,830 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where cooks, restaurant actually sit across the pay range in Baltimore, MD, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $15.00 | $31,200 | |
| 25th percentile | $16.73 | $34,790 | |
| Median | $17.64 | $36,690 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $19.25 | $40,040 | |
| 90th percentile | $21.30 | $44,300 | |
| Average (mean) | $18.38 | $38,230 |
How Baltimore, MD compares
The local median of $36,690 runs -0.4% below the US median of $36,830 for this occupation; it pays 36.0% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($57,340); within the metro it ranks 594th of 652 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, MD — this occupation | $36,690 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $36,830 | -0.4% |
| Baltimore, MD — all occupations | $57,340 | -36.0% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $46,970 | -21.9% |
A location quotient of 0.68 sits slightly below the national average, meaning the occupation accounts for a smaller share of local employment than it does across the US.
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 594th of 652 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Baltimore, MD
To put $36,690 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 594th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Physicians, All Other | $226,570 | 3,420 |
| Podiatrists | $218,390 | 130 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $213,490 | — |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $209,340 | 420 |
| Pediatricians, General | $187,190 | 280 |
| Dentists, General | $186,530 | 1,090 |
| Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $181,320 | 200 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $173,130 | 7,380 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $163,970 | 2,390 |
| Physicists | $162,490 | 480 |
Where cooks, restaurant earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $33,760 to $46,970. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $46,970 | 24,410 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $46,180 | 19,820 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $45,230 | 22,290 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $45,040 | 15,380 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $44,700 | 57,770 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $43,420 | 17,090 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $42,050 | 30,860 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $41,980 | 62,890 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $39,710 | 18,230 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $39,260 | 11,970 |
See the full national picture on the Cooks, Restaurant salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for cooks, restaurant in Baltimore, MD?
The median annual wage is $36,690, or $18 per hour. That means half of the cooks, restaurant working in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $38,230.
What do the highest and lowest paid cooks, restaurant in Baltimore, MD earn?
The bottom 10% earn $31,200 or less, while the top 10% earn $44,300 or more — a spread of $13,100 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $34,790 and $40,040.
Is cooks, restaurant pay in Baltimore, MD above the local average?
Yes, it is 36.0% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $57,340. 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 Baltimore, MD pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $36,690 the metro median is 0.4% lower than the US median of $36,830 for cooks, restaurant. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $33,760 to $46,970.
How many cooks, restaurant work in Baltimore, MD?
BLS counts about 8,640 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 6.44 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. A location quotient of 0.68 sits slightly below the national average, meaning the occupation accounts for a smaller share of local employment than it does across the US.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 9.4%). 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.