Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $30K, rent takes 83.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,728/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.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new cooks, institution and cafeterias typically earn — is $24K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,451/month.

Local pay runs 20% below the national median — $30K here vs. $37K nationally.

West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area pays $30K median vs. the U.S. average of $37K — that’s -20%.

The median is $29,800 a year, that works out to about $14 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $24,190, and experienced cooks, institution and cafeterias can clear $36,310. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,066/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,728/month, which eats 83.6% 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.

West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median cooks, institution and cafeteria salary is worth about $29,800 in national-average purchasing power.

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.