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Food Service

Cooks, Short Order Salary

in Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT

Cooks, Short Orders in Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT make a median of $36,360 a year, or about $17.48 an hour. The range runs from $21K at the entry level to $43K for experienced workers.

$36K
Median annual
$17.48/hr
Hourly rate
$21K
Entry level (10th %)
$43K
Senior level (90th %)

So what does $36K get you in Provo-Orem-Lehi?

Estimated take-home pay$2,464/mo
Rent (2BR median)-$1,274/mo
Rent as % of take-home51.7% ⚠ above 30% guideline
Groceries-$385/mo
Utilities-$192/mo
Transportation-$338/mo
Healthcare *-$224/mo
Left over$51/mo

Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Provo-Orem-Lehi’s Regional Price Parity (98.2). 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.

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About cooks, short orders

Education: No formal educational credential
U.S. employed: 138,650
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT employed: 50
Category: Food Service

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What this looks like in Provo-Orem-Lehi

Cooks, short order pay in Provo-Orem-Lehi tracks closely to the national median, $36K locally vs. $36K nationwide, a 1% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,274/month, which is 51.7% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.2) 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, short orders in metros near Provo-Orem-Lehi, adjusted for local cost of living.

MetroMedian payCOL-adjusted
Salt Lake City-Murray$39K,
Ogden$40K,
Reno$42K,
Fort Collins-Loveland$33K,

COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.

Compensation breakdown

Annual earnings by percentile, Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT

Bar chart showing Cooks, Short Order salary percentiles in Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT: 10th percentile $21,150, 25th percentile $24,960, median $36,360, 75th percentile $43,040, 90th percentile $43,470. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.10th$21K25th$25KMedian$36K75th$43K90th$43K
Bar chart showing Cooks, Short Order salary percentiles in Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT: 10th percentile $21,150, 25th percentile $24,960, median $36,360, 75th percentile $43,040, 90th percentile $43,470. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Entry-level cooks, short orders (10th percentile) start around $21K. Mid-career wages sit at $36K. Top earners bring in $43K or more, a $22K spread from bottom to top.

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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
StateMedian salaryvs. nationalEmployment
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
District of Columbia$42K+18%1,910
Colorado$42K+18%1,900
Connecticut$42K+18%N/A
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
12345

Showing 1–10 of 49 states

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 Provo-Orem-Lehi numbers change.

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Frequently asked questions

Can a cooks, short order afford a 2BR apartment alone in Provo-Orem-Lehi?

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $36K, rent takes 51.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,274/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $700/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 Provo-Orem-Lehi?

The 10th-percentile wage — what new cooks, short orders typically earn — is $21K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,269/month. At HUD’s $1,274/month FMR, rent would take 100% 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 Provo-Orem-Lehi?

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $36K locally vs. $36K nationally, a 1% difference.

How does Provo-Orem-Lehi compare to the national average for cooks, short orders?

Provo-Orem-Lehi pays $36K median vs. the U.S. average of $36K — that’s +1%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.2), the purchasing-power equivalent is $37K — still ahead of the national median.

How much do cooks, short orders make in Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT?

The median is $36,360 a year, that works out to about $17 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $21,150, and experienced cooks, short orders can clear $43,470. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

Is $36K enough to live in Provo-Orem-Lehi?

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,464/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,274/month, which eats 51.7% 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 Provo-Orem-Lehi?

Provo-Orem-Lehi 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, short order salary is worth about $37,026 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.

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