Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Wisconsin

Cooks, Restaurant in Wisconsin have a median of $36,550 a year, below the national $37,390 (−2%); the state ranks 29th of 51 states by median. That is 27% less than the median across all occupations in Wisconsin ($50,270). Among neighbouring states, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan pay more (up to $38,590 in Minnesota) and Iowa pays less (down to $35,670 in Iowa). Wisconsin employs 25,410 cooks, restaurant, 8.64 per 1,000 jobs, the 23rd largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.95 is close to the national share.

Wisconsin vs the United States, May 2025

Cooks, Restaurant: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Wisconsin and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
WisconsinHourly$13.47$15.02$17.57$19.37$22.25$17.6425,4108.640.95
Annual$28,010$31,240$36,550$40,280$46,270$36,690
United StatesHourly$13.80$16.35$17.98$21.45$23.03$18.621,409,890––
Annual$28,700$34,010$37,390$44,620$47,900$38,730
$0$20k$40k$60k10th10th: $28,010$28,01025th25th: $31,240$31,240MedianMedian: $36,550$36,55075th75th: $40,280$40,28090th90th: $46,270$46,270US median
Wisconsin 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
29th of 51 states
Rank by employment
23rd of 51 states
Location quotient
0.95
Jobs per 1,000
8.64

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

15 metropolitan areas and 4 nonmetropolitan areas touching Wisconsin 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.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI$19.06$39,640$35,310$48,16017,7609.101.00
Madison, WI$18.48$38,440$30,790$47,0903,1907.810.86
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI$17.87$37,180$29,720$46,7107,2208.800.97
Green Bay, WI$17.67$36,760$27,030$45,1801,6209.251.02
Kenosha, WI$17.66$36,730$28,240$45,9806408.530.94
Duluth, MN-WI$17.64$36,680$29,100$45,3901,46011.741.29
Appleton, WI$17.56$36,520$26,360$45,4601,0608.550.94
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI$17.55$36,500$27,190$45,1507007.490.83
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN$17.43$36,260$28,050$45,06086010.211.13
Wausau, WI$17.39$36,180$26,510$43,7605307.610.84
Janesville-Beloit, WI$17.27$35,920$26,740$44,8706409.141.01
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI$17.21$35,800$28,360$45,0806007.820.86
Eau Claire, WI$17.20$35,780$26,220$44,4707909.211.02
Fond du Lac, WI$17.18$35,720$24,230$45,5103207.230.80
Sheboygan, WI$17.00$35,360$26,740$44,7504507.450.82
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area$17.39$36,170$26,660$45,8002,18010.341.14
Northwestern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area$17.14$35,650$26,210$44,23059012.141.34
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area$16.99$35,330$28,200$45,9902,18011.091.22
Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area$16.68$34,700$24,960$43,0201,0808.460.93

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Wisconsin$17.57$36,55025,4100.95
Iowa$17.15$35,67012,2700.87
Illinois$18.07$37,58053,5400.97
Michigan$17.78$36,98039,1000.98
Minnesota$18.55$38,59026,0800.98

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