Cooks, Short Order Salary
Cooks, Short Orders in Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA make a median of $30,160 a year, or about $14.5 an hour. The range runs from $27K at the entry level to $35K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 91.13), which stretches that salary to about $33,096 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,261/month, about 61.3% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $30K get you in Staunton-Stuarts Draft?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Staunton-Stuarts Draft’s Regional Price Parity (91.13). 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft
Pay for cooks, short order in Staunton-Stuarts Draft runs about 16% below the U.S. median of $36K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,261/month, which is 60.4% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 91.13 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 9% cheaper here. Your dollar stretches further than the headline salary suggests. 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | $28K | $28K |
| Richmond | $29K | $30K |
| Roanoke | $29K | $31K |
| Winchester | $31K | $32K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA
Entry-level cooks, short orders (10th percentile) start around $27K. Mid-career wages sit at $30K. Top earners bring in $35K or more, a $8K 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 |
| 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 |
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
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Frequently asked questions
Can a cooks, short order afford a 2BR apartment alone in Staunton-Stuarts Draft?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $30K, rent takes 60.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,261/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.
What’s the entry-level salary for cooks, short orders in Staunton-Stuarts Draft?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new cooks, short orders typically earn — is $27K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,648/month. At HUD’s $1,261/month FMR, rent would take 77% 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft?
Local pay runs 16% below the national median — $30K here vs. $36K nationally. Cost of living is 9% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.
How does Staunton-Stuarts Draft compare to the national average for cooks, short orders?
Staunton-Stuarts Draft pays $30K median vs. the U.S. average of $36K — that’s -16%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 91.13), the purchasing-power equivalent is $33K — below the national median.
How much do cooks, short orders make in Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA?
The median is $30,160 a year, that works out to about $15 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $27,460, and experienced cooks, short orders can clear $35,270. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $30K enough to live in Staunton-Stuarts Draft?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,088/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,261/month, which eats 60.4% 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft?
Staunton-Stuarts Draft has a Regional Price Parity of 91.13 (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 $33,096 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.