Cooks, Fast Food Salary
Cooks, Fast Foods in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX make a median of $23,090 a year, or about $11.1 an hour. The range runs from $22K at the entry level to $38K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.63), that's roughly $23,411 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,573/month, about 91.5% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $23K get you in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands’s Regional Price Parity (98.63). 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
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What this looks like in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Pay for cooks, fast food in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands runs about 25% below the U.S. median of $31K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,573/month, which is 92% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.63) 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| San Angelo | $25K | $27K |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $30K | $29K |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | $39K | $39K |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | $30K | $32K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Entry-level cooks, fast foods (10th percentile) start around $22K. Mid-career wages sit at $23K. Top earners bring in $38K or more, a $17K 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
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Frequently asked questions
Can a cooks, fast food afford a 2BR apartment alone in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $23K, rent takes 92% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,573/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $500/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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new cooks, fast foods typically earn — is $22K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,292/month. At HUD’s $1,573/month FMR, rent would take 122% 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Local pay runs 25% below the national median — $23K here vs. $31K nationally.
How does Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands compare to the national average for cooks, fast foods?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands pays $23K median vs. the U.S. average of $31K — that’s -25%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.63), the purchasing-power equivalent is $23K — below the national median.
How much do cooks, fast foods make in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
The median is $23,090 a year, that works out to about $11 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $21,530, and experienced cooks, fast foods can clear $38,210. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $23K enough to live in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $1,710/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,573/month, which eats 92% 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has a Regional Price Parity of 98.63 (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 $23,411 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.