Cooks, Restaurant Salary
Cooks, Restaurants in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX make a median of $36,810 a year, or about $17.7 an hour. The range runs from $28K at the entry level to $44K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.07), that's roughly $37,534 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,852/month, about 69.9% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $37K get you in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos’s Regional Price Parity (98.07). 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, restaurants
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What this looks like in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Cooks, restaurant pay in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos tracks closely to the national median, $37K locally vs. $37K nationwide, a 2% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,852/month, which is 70.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.07) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for cooks, restaurants in metros near Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $36K | $35K |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | $35K | $36K |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | $35K | $37K |
| El Paso | $29K | $32K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Entry-level cooks, restaurants (10th percentile) start around $28K. Mid-career wages sit at $37K. Top earners bring in $44K or more, a $17K spread from bottom to top.
Cooks, Restaurant pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Cooks, Restaurant salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $47K | +25% | 35,140 |
| District of Columbia | $46K | +23% | 7,720 |
| Massachusetts | $46K | +22% | 29,570 |
| Hawaii | $45K | +21% | 11,090 |
| Vermont | $45K | +21% | 2,360 |
| Maine | $45K | +21% | 5,130 |
| California | $45K | +20% | 152,250 |
| New York | $44K | +17% | 71,530 |
| Oregon | $43K | +15% | 21,550 |
| Colorado | $42K | +11% | 30,600 |
| New Hampshire | $40K | +8% | 7,190 |
| Alaska | $40K | +7% | 2,350 |
| Connecticut | $39K | +6% | 14,830 |
| Arizona | $39K | +3% | 30,870 |
| Nevada | $39K | +3% | 27,250 |
| Minnesota | $39K | +3% | 26,080 |
| New Jersey | $38K | +3% | 28,800 |
| Montana | $38K | +2% | 7,580 |
| Delaware | $38K | +1% | 5,280 |
| Maryland | $38K | +1% | 17,690 |
| Illinois | $38K | +1% | 53,540 |
| Nebraska | $37K | -1% | 4,750 |
| Florida | $37K | -1% | 124,040 |
| Michigan | $37K | -1% | 39,100 |
| Missouri | $37K | -1% | 25,990 |
| Wyoming | $37K | -1% | 2,710 |
| Virginia | $37K | -2% | 40,310 |
| Pennsylvania | $37K | -2% | 54,100 |
| Wisconsin | $37K | -2% | 25,410 |
| Rhode Island | $37K | -2% | 6,950 |
| Utah | $36K | -2% | 10,520 |
| North Dakota | $36K | -2% | 4,490 |
| Idaho | $36K | -3% | 8,130 |
| Tennessee | $36K | -3% | 28,220 |
| South Dakota | $36K | -3% | 1,890 |
| Georgia | $36K | -4% | 46,350 |
| South Carolina | $36K | -4% | 25,890 |
| Iowa | $36K | -5% | 12,270 |
| Ohio | $36K | -5% | 46,910 |
| North Carolina | $35K | -5% | 50,150 |
| Indiana | $35K | -6% | 26,960 |
| Kansas | $35K | -6% | 11,620 |
| New Mexico | $35K | -6% | 7,810 |
| Texas | $35K | -7% | 126,620 |
| Kentucky | $35K | -7% | 13,510 |
| Alabama | $32K | -14% | 16,260 |
| Oklahoma | $32K | -15% | 17,050 |
| Arkansas | $30K | -19% | 11,270 |
| West Virginia | $30K | -21% | 6,450 |
| Mississippi | $30K | -21% | 10,770 |
| Louisiana | $29K | -22% | 14,910 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
Track cooks, restaurant salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos numbers change.
Related careers in Food Service
Frequently asked questions
Can a cooks, restaurant afford a 2BR apartment alone in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $37K, rent takes 70.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,852/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $800/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for cooks, restaurants in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new cooks, restaurants typically earn — is $28K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,652/month. At HUD’s $1,852/month FMR, rent would take 112% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is cooks, restaurant a high-paying job in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $37K locally vs. $37K nationally, a 2% difference.
How does Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos compare to the national average for cooks, restaurants?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos pays $37K median vs. the U.S. average of $37K — that’s -2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.07), the purchasing-power equivalent is $38K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do cooks, restaurants make in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?
The median is $36,810 a year, that works out to about $18 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $27,540, and experienced cooks, restaurants can clear $44,490. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $37K enough to live in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,635/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,852/month, which eats 70.3% 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, restaurant salary go in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos has a Regional Price Parity of 98.07 (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, restaurant salary is worth about $37,534 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do cooks, restaurants 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.