Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Alabama

Cooks, Restaurant in Alabama have a median of $32,180 a year, below the national $37,390 (−14%); the state ranks 46th of 51 states by median. That is 30% less than the median across all occupations in Alabama ($45,670). Among neighbouring states, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia pay more (up to $37,020 in Florida) and Mississippi pays less (down to $29,560 in Mississippi). Alabama employs 16,260 cooks, restaurant, 7.69 per 1,000 jobs, the 27th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.85 is close to the national share.

Alabama vs the United States, May 2025

Cooks, Restaurant: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Alabama and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Alabama	Hourly	$11.62	$13.91	$15.47	$17.41	$18.86	$15.87	16,260	7.69	0.85
Alabama	Annual	$24,170	$28,930	$32,180	$36,220	$39,220	$33,000	16,260	7.69	0.85
United States	Hourly	$13.80	$16.35	$17.98	$21.45	$23.03	$18.62	1,409,890	–	–
United States	Annual	$28,700	$34,010	$37,390	$44,620	$47,900	$38,730	1,409,890	–	–

Alabama 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: 46th of 51 states
Rank by employment: 27th of 51 states
Location quotient: 0.85
Jobs per 1,000: 7.69

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Alabama'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 Alabama

13 metropolitan areas and 4 nonmetropolitan areas touching Alabama publish a row for cooks, restaurant, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

Area	Median hourly	Median annual	10th pct (annual)	90th pct (annual)	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Huntsville, AL	$17.08	$35,520	$27,610	$44,660	1,800	6.75	0.74
Birmingham, AL	$16.51	$34,340	$28,500	$38,590	4,020	7.73	0.85
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL	$16.27	$33,850	$26,780	$42,910	1,600	18.40	2.03
Montgomery, AL	$15.90	$33,070	$24,820	$39,340	1,280	7.74	0.85
Mobile, AL	$15.88	$33,030	$24,130	$43,540	1,310	7.58	0.84
Decatur, AL	$15.58	$32,410	$23,580	$38,120	380	6.24	0.69
Tuscaloosa, AL	$14.76	$30,690	$24,850	$38,110	890	8.24	0.91
Auburn-Opelika, AL	$14.70	$30,580	$23,480	$37,450	760	10.43	1.15
Columbus, GA-AL	$14.65	$30,470	$23,000	$37,310	1,130	9.75	1.08
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL	$14.59	$30,350	$22,200	$36,820	590	10.54	1.16
Anniston-Oxford, AL	$14.35	$29,850	$22,500	$36,000	390	8.92	0.98
Dothan, AL	$14.29	$29,710	$22,990	$36,850	560	9.26	1.02
Gadsden, AL	$13.84	$28,790	$22,950	$35,870	400	11.95	1.32
Northwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area	$14.82	$30,820	$21,590	$36,800	350	5.16	0.57
Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area	$14.79	$30,760	$22,250	$37,230	350	5.38	0.59
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area	$14.66	$30,490	$21,940	$41,840	940	6.18	0.68
Southeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area	$14.58	$30,320	$22,250	$36,640	470	5.55	0.61

Neighbouring states

State	Median hourly	Median annual	Employment	Location quotient
Alabama	$15.47	$32,180	16,260	0.85
Florida	$17.80	$37,020	124,040	1.38
Georgia	$17.28	$35,940	46,350	1.05
Mississippi	$14.21	$29,560	10,770	1.02
Tennessee	$17.51	$36,420	28,220	0.95

See the national page for Cooks, Restaurant (every state ranked) and the Alabama 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 Alabama 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.