Cooks, Fast Food Salary in Iowa

Cooks, Fast Food in Iowa have a median of $28,510 a year, below the national $30,890 (−8%); the state ranks 37th of 51 states by median. That is 41% less than the median across all occupations in Iowa ($48,540). Every neighbouring state pays more: Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Wisconsin range from $28,920 in Wisconsin to $34,960 in Illinois. Iowa employs 8,290 cooks, fast food, 5.32 per 1,000 jobs, the 24th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 1.29 means the occupation is more concentrated in Iowa than nationally.

Iowa vs the United States, May 2025

Cooks, Fast Food: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Iowa and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
IowaHourly$7.25$7.76$13.71$16.21$19.62$13.278,2905.321.29
Annual$15,080$16,140$28,510$33,710$40,810$27,600
United StatesHourly$10.86$13.11$14.85$17.92$20.63$15.57641,070––
Annual$22,580$27,260$30,890$37,260$42,910$32,390
$0$20k$40k$60k10th10th: $15,080$15,08025th25th: $16,140$16,140MedianMedian: $28,510$28,51075th75th: $33,710$33,71090th90th: $40,810$40,810US median
Iowa annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.
Rank by median
37th of 51 states
Rank by employment
24th of 49 states
Location quotient
1.29
Jobs per 1,000
5.32

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Iowa's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Iowa

7 metropolitan areas and 3 nonmetropolitan areas touching Iowa publish a row for cooks, fast food, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Omaha, NE-IA$15.01$31,220$28,080$38,1001,4802.960.72
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL$14.65$30,460$15,760$37,4607904.371.06
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA$14.60$30,360$16,140$43,7801,9804.901.19
Dubuque, IA$14.18$29,500$15,690$42,5402904.981.21
Iowa City, IA$14.04$29,200$15,700$39,7004404.731.15
Cedar Rapids, IA$13.96$29,040$15,600$42,3104903.530.86
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD$13.65$28,390$15,630$37,1604806.401.55
Southwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area$13.17$27,390$15,080$46,7004305.901.43
Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area$12.25$25,480$15,080$46,7008005.501.33
Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area$12.25$25,480$15,080$35,6201,3506.751.64

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Iowa$13.71$28,5108,2901.29
Illinois$16.81$34,96013,4300.53
Minnesota$16.41$34,1205,1900.43
Missouri$14.37$29,89055,7804.61
Nebraska$14.63$30,4302,9000.69
South Dakota$14.88$30,9501,7200.91
Wisconsin$13.90$28,9206,9000.57

See the national page for Cooks, Fast Food (every state ranked) and the Iowa wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Iowa estimates.

  • Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
  • Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.