Cooks, Fast Food Salary
Cooks, Fast Foods in Columbus, OH make a median of $25,290 a year, or about $12.16 an hour. The range runs from $23K at the entry level to $36K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.47), that's roughly $26,490 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,430/month, about 80% of take-home, which is tight.
Where the paycheck goes
What $25K actually covers in Columbus, month by month
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Columbus’s Regional Price Parity (95.47). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About cooks, fast foods
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in Columbus
Pay for cooks, fast food in Columbus runs about 18% below the U.S. median of $31K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,430/month, which is 76.8% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.47) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for cooks, fast foods.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for cooks, fast foods in metros near Columbus, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Canton-Massillon | $26K | $29K |
| Cleveland | $29K | $31K |
| Cincinnati | $29K | $30K |
| Akron | $26K | $28K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Columbus, OH
Entry-level cooks, fast foods (10th percentile) start around $23K. Mid-career wages sit at $25K. Top earners bring in $36K or more, a $13K spread from bottom to top.
Cooks, Fast Food pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Cooks, Fast Food salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $48K | +56% | N/A |
| District of Columbia | $45K | +45% | 2,760 |
| California | $42K | +36% | 124,440 |
| Washington | $39K | +27% | 9,020 |
| New Hampshire | $39K | +25% | 1,330 |
| Vermont | $38K | +24% | 640 |
| Oregon | $38K | +23% | 4,300 |
| Massachusetts | $38K | +23% | N/A |
| Colorado | $37K | +19% | 9,220 |
| Maine | $36K | +18% | 1,470 |
| New York | $36K | +16% | 11,710 |
| Rhode Island | $35K | +14% | 1,210 |
| Connecticut | $35K | +13% | 3,630 |
| Illinois | $35K | +13% | 13,430 |
| Minnesota | $34K | +10% | 5,190 |
| Alaska | $34K | +10% | 2,250 |
| Nevada | $34K | +10% | 5,890 |
| Maryland | $33K | +8% | 10,960 |
| Arizona | $33K | +6% | 11,210 |
| New Jersey | $32K | +4% | 3,440 |
| Delaware | $32K | +3% | 850 |
| Utah | $32K | +3% | 4,400 |
| Idaho | $31K | +1% | 1,610 |
| South Dakota | $31K | +0% | 1,720 |
| Nebraska | $30K | -1% | 2,900 |
| North Dakota | $30K | -2% | 580 |
| New Mexico | $30K | -2% | 1,800 |
| Virginia | $30K | -3% | 12,520 |
| Florida | $30K | -3% | 22,600 |
| Missouri | $30K | -3% | 55,780 |
| Indiana | $30K | -3% | 6,830 |
| Michigan | $29K | -5% | 14,340 |
| Wyoming | $29K | -6% | 890 |
| Wisconsin | $29K | -6% | 6,900 |
| Pennsylvania | $29K | -7% | 9,240 |
| Kansas | $29K | -7% | 1,610 |
| Iowa | $29K | -8% | 8,290 |
| Tennessee | $28K | -8% | 14,020 |
| Texas | $28K | -8% | 36,240 |
| Alabama | $28K | -10% | 26,740 |
| Oklahoma | $28K | -10% | 8,860 |
| Arkansas | $28K | -10% | 7,860 |
| South Carolina | $27K | -11% | 9,110 |
| North Carolina | $27K | -12% | 81,980 |
| Georgia | $27K | -13% | 12,940 |
| Ohio | $27K | -13% | 12,310 |
| Montana | $27K | -13% | 820 |
| Louisiana | $25K | -19% | 3,000 |
| Kentucky | $24K | -24% | 21,750 |
| West Virginia | $23K | -25% | 16,490 |
| Mississippi | $23K | -27% | 11,170 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
Track cooks, fast food salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Columbus numbers change.
Related careers in Food Service
Quick answers
The stuff people actually ask about this job
Can a cooks, fast food afford a 2BR apartment alone in Columbus?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $25K, rent takes 76.8% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,430/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $600/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for cooks, fast foods in Columbus?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new cooks, fast foods typically earn — is $23K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,708/month. At HUD’s $1,430/month FMR, rent would take 84% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is cooks, fast food a high-paying job in Columbus?
Local pay runs 18% below the national median — $25K here vs. $31K nationally.
How does Columbus compare to the national average for cooks, fast foods?
Columbus pays $25K median vs. the U.S. average of $31K — that’s -18%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.47), the purchasing-power equivalent is $26K — below the national median.
How much do cooks, fast foods make in Columbus, OH?
The median is $25,290 a year, that works out to about $12 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $23,070, and experienced cooks, fast foods can clear $36,060. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $25K enough to live in Columbus?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $1,861/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,430/month, which eats 76.8% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a cooks, fast food salary go in Columbus?
Columbus has a Regional Price Parity of 95.47 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median cooks, fast food salary is worth about $26,490 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do cooks, fast foods get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.