Average Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Massachusetts
Cooks, Restaurant in Massachusetts earn a median annual salary of $45,600, which is +22.0% compared to the national median. There are 29,570 workers employed locally in this occupation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates for Massachusetts (state).
Local wage range
- 10th
- $36,540
- 25th
- $38,370
- Median
- $45,600
- 75th
- $49,040
- 90th
- $58,590
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
This local range is the useful part of the page. The median tells you the center of the market in Massachusetts, while the percentile band shows how compressed or wide the local pay distribution actually is.
Cost-of-living context
Services: 152.1%
Rents: 128.1%
Comparable states for this occupation
| State | Median annual wage | Compare | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $46,800 | Compare | 35,140 |
| District of Columbia | $46,130 | Compare | 7,720 |
| Hawaii | $45,420 | Compare | 11,090 |
| Vermont | $45,390 | Compare | 2,360 |
| Maine | $45,290 | Compare | 5,130 |
| California | $44,880 | Compare | 152,250 |
The point of this table is not random nearby places. It is to show the other labor markets where this same occupation looks stronger or weaker on the same OEWS release.
Top occupations in Massachusetts
| Occupation | Median annual wage | LQ |
|---|---|---|
| Radiologists | $426,560 | N/A |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $392,300 | N/A |
| Surgeons, All Other | $387,150 | 1.31 |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | $356,230 | 1.15 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $325,200 | 2.14 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $295,550 | 0.41 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $285,250 | 1.01 |
| Physicians, Pathologists | $285,240 | 1.24 |
Massachusetts has salary data for 737 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Radiologists.
Trend for Cooks, Restaurant in Massachusetts
Historical trend data is not yet available for this occupation in this area.
Outlook and page notes
Nationally, Cooks, Restaurant are projected to change by +14.9% from 2024 to 2034, with 250,700 annual openings.
Use this page to answer three separate questions: what the occupation pays here, how large the local market is, and whether this market is unusually concentrated for the occupation.
For metro pages in particular, read long-term trend rows as directional until the area comparability layer is fully wired. OEWS area definitions can change over time, and that matters more at the metro level than at the state level.