Cooks, Short Order Salary
Cooks, Short Orders in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN make a median of $21,440 a year, or about $10.31 an hour. The range runs from $21K at the entry level to $31K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.7), that's roughly $22,403 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,473/month, about 95.5% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $21K get you in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood’s Regional Price Parity (95.7). 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, short orders
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What this looks like in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood
Pay for cooks, short order in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood runs about 40% below the U.S. median of $36K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,473/month, which is 95.5% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.7) 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, short orders.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for cooks, short orders in metros near Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Wayne | $30K | $33K |
| Elkhart-Goshen | $28K | $31K |
| Bloomington | $29K | $31K |
| Terre Haute | $22K | $25K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
Entry-level cooks, short orders (10th percentile) start around $21K. Mid-career wages sit at $21K. Top earners bring in $31K or more, a $10K spread from bottom to top.
Cooks, Short Order pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Cooks, Short Order salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $47K | +30% | 1,880 |
| Rhode Island | $46K | +29% | N/A |
| Massachusetts | $44K | +23% | 4,760 |
| Hawaii | $43K | +20% | 460 |
| California | $43K | +20% | 30,740 |
| Washington | $43K | +19% | 1,700 |
| Colorado | $42K | +18% | 1,900 |
| Connecticut | $42K | +18% | N/A |
| District of Columbia | $42K | +18% | 1,910 |
| New Jersey | $41K | +13% | 850 |
| Idaho | $40K | +12% | 120 |
| Vermont | $39K | +8% | 670 |
| Oregon | $39K | +7% | 1,780 |
| Delaware | $39K | +7% | N/A |
| Missouri | $38K | +7% | N/A |
| Utah | $38K | +6% | 320 |
| Alaska | $38K | +5% | 330 |
| Nevada | $38K | +5% | 790 |
| Illinois | $37K | +4% | 2,630 |
| New Mexico | $37K | +4% | 750 |
| Maryland | $37K | +3% | 3,250 |
| New York | $36K | -1% | 18,300 |
| Maine | $35K | -1% | 1,120 |
| Oklahoma | $35K | -2% | 760 |
| Michigan | $35K | -4% | 2,560 |
| Florida | $34K | -5% | 5,050 |
| Iowa | $34K | -5% | 1,160 |
| Montana | $33K | -7% | N/A |
| South Dakota | $32K | -10% | 2,000 |
| New Hampshire | $32K | -10% | 2,320 |
| Minnesota | $32K | -10% | 870 |
| Kentucky | $32K | -11% | 650 |
| North Carolina | $31K | -13% | 3,170 |
| Virginia | $31K | -13% | 3,350 |
| Nebraska | $31K | -15% | 1,810 |
| Arkansas | $31K | -15% | 160 |
| Tennessee | $30K | -16% | 2,510 |
| South Carolina | $30K | -17% | 900 |
| Ohio | $29K | -18% | 6,000 |
| Mississippi | $28K | -21% | 1,890 |
| Wisconsin | $28K | -22% | 2,270 |
| West Virginia | $27K | -24% | 620 |
| Kansas | $27K | -24% | 640 |
| Georgia | $27K | -25% | 3,870 |
| Louisiana | $26K | -27% | 1,990 |
| Texas | $25K | -29% | 7,540 |
| Alabama | $22K | -38% | N/A |
| Indiana | $22K | -39% | 2,940 |
| Pennsylvania | $20K | -45% | 3,510 |
Showing 1–10 of 49 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track cooks, short order salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a cooks, short order afford a 2BR apartment alone in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $21K, rent takes 95.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,473/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, short orders in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new cooks, short orders typically earn — is $21K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,286/month. At HUD’s $1,473/month FMR, rent would take 115% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is cooks, short order a high-paying job in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
Local pay runs 40% below the national median — $21K here vs. $36K nationally.
How does Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood compare to the national average for cooks, short orders?
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood pays $21K median vs. the U.S. average of $36K — that’s -40%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.7), the purchasing-power equivalent is $22K — below the national median.
How much do cooks, short orders make in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN?
The median is $21,440 a year, that works out to about $10 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $21,440, and experienced cooks, short orders can clear $31,330. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $21K enough to live in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $1,542/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,473/month, which eats 95.5% 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, short order salary go in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood has a Regional Price Parity of 95.7 (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, short order salary is worth about $22,403 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do cooks, short orders 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.