Cooks, Restaurant vs Food Preparation Workers: $37K vs $35K Median Pay

Cooks, Restaurant vs Food Preparation Workers: what changes?

Consider Cooks, Restaurant if you want to prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. Consider Food Preparation Workers if you would rather perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Cooks, Restaurant (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Cooks, Restaurant and Food Preparation Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Cooks, Restaurant

National median pay (2025): $37,390
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 218,600

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Cooks, Restaurant brief

Food Preparation Workers

National median pay (2025): $35,320
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 135,700

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Food Preparation Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Restaurant is at 12.1% projected growth, compared with -3% projected growth for Food Preparation Workers.

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Restaurant is at $37,390, compared with $35,320 for Food Preparation Workers.

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Restaurant is at 218,600 annual openings, compared with 135,700 annual openings for Food Preparation Workers.

67.2/ 100

Cooks, Restaurant

46.3/ 100

Food Preparation Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Cooks, Restaurant vs Food Preparation Workers

Dimension	Cooks, Restaurant	Food Preparation Workers
Median pay (2025)	$37,390	$35,320
Pay percentile	7.1 percentile	2.8 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	12.1%	-3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	218,600	135,700
2025 employment	1,417,500	908,500
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Cooks, Restaurant brief Read Food Preparation Workers brief

Cooks, Restaurant vs Food Preparation Workers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Cooks, Restaurant

Food Preparation Workers

How the national numbers differ

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on projected growth

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on median pay

Cooks, Restaurant has the edge on annual openings

Cooks, Restaurant vs Food Preparation Workers

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