Cooks, Restaurant
Also called: Banquet Cook, Grill Cook, Line Cook, Prep Cook (Preparation Cook)Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 4 of its 20 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 12.1% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 8.0% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Cooks”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 10.1 hires for every 10 job openings in accommodation and food services, which employs about 93% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.10.1 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $32,180 | $28,930 to $36,220 | 16,260 |
| Alaska | $40,140 | $36,820 to $44,110 | 2,350 |
| Arizona | $38,670 | $36,200 to $44,870 | 30,870 |
| Arkansas | $30,180 | $28,470 to $35,410 | 11,270 |
| California | $44,880 | $38,590 to $47,330 | 152,250 |
| Colorado | $41,600 | $36,930 to $45,740 | 30,600 |
| Connecticut | $39,480 | $37,060 to $45,950 | 14,830 |
| Delaware | $37,840 | $35,410 to $44,960 | 5,280 |
| District of Columbia | $46,130 | $39,960 to $47,890 | 7,720 |
| Florida | $37,020 | $35,050 to $42,850 | 124,040 |
| Georgia | $35,940 | $29,190 to $37,840 | 46,350 |
| Guam | $22,950 | $22,360 to $27,600 | 1,110 |
| Hawaii | $45,420 | $37,260 to $55,550 | 11,090 |
| Idaho | $36,440 | $29,850 to $42,450 | 8,130 |
| Illinois | $37,580 | $35,360 to $45,010 | 53,540 |
| Indiana | $35,170 | $28,650 to $37,590 | 26,960 |
| Iowa | $35,670 | $30,360 to $38,180 | 12,270 |
| Kansas | $35,130 | $29,690 to $37,440 | 11,620 |
| Kentucky | $34,640 | $28,850 to $37,200 | 13,510 |
| Louisiana | $29,050 | $25,860 to $35,960 | 14,910 |
| Maine | $45,290 | $39,800 to $47,720 | 5,130 |
| Maryland | $37,820 | $36,520 to $43,980 | 17,690 |
| Massachusetts | $45,600 | $38,370 to $49,040 | 29,570 |
| Michigan | $36,980 | $34,770 to $42,850 | 39,100 |
| Minnesota | $38,590 | $36,020 to $45,360 | 26,080 |
| Mississippi | $29,560 | $26,000 to $33,940 | 10,770 |
| Missouri | $36,940 | $30,790 to $42,720 | 25,990 |
| Montana | $38,060 | $35,100 to $43,910 | 7,580 |
| Nebraska | $37,030 | $33,800 to $42,510 | 4,750 |
| Nevada | $38,610 | $36,530 to $47,170 | 27,250 |
| New Hampshire | $40,200 | $37,190 to $46,850 | 7,190 |
| New Jersey | $38,460 | $35,880 to $45,600 | 28,800 |
| New Mexico | $35,020 | $30,220 to $37,320 | 7,810 |
| New York | $43,680 | $37,100 to $46,530 | 71,530 |
| North Carolina | $35,400 | $29,690 to $38,170 | 50,150 |
| North Dakota | $36,470 | $30,410 to $38,110 | 4,490 |
| Ohio | $35,540 | $29,520 to $37,920 | 46,910 |
| Oklahoma | $31,720 | $28,670 to $37,470 | 17,050 |
| Oregon | $43,100 | $38,030 to $47,730 | 21,550 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,580 | $29,890 to $39,710 | 54,100 |
| Puerto Rico | $24,650 | $22,590 to $27,790 | 9,810 |
| Rhode Island | $36,510 | $34,610 to $45,650 | 6,950 |
| South Carolina | $35,740 | $30,470 to $38,560 | 25,890 |
| South Dakota | $36,220 | $33,040 to $38,910 | 1,890 |
| Tennessee | $36,420 | $30,610 to $40,740 | 28,220 |
| Texas | $34,760 | $28,540 to $37,030 | 126,620 |
| Utah | $36,490 | $31,200 to $41,950 | 10,520 |
| Vermont | $45,390 | $37,470 to $47,340 | 2,360 |
| Virgin Islands | $37,430 | $35,150 to $41,320 | 410 |
| Virginia | $36,750 | $33,270 to $42,990 | 40,310 |
| Washington | $46,800 | $42,770 to $49,540 | 35,140 |
| West Virginia | $29,590 | $26,790 to $35,170 | 6,450 |
| Wisconsin | $36,550 | $31,240 to $40,280 | 25,410 |
| Wyoming | $36,830 | $29,440 to $43,060 | 2,710 |
Nationally: $37,390. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 4 of its 20 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons. | Not published |
| Not much | Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock. | Not published |
| Not much | Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters. | Not published |
| Not much | Turn or stir foods to ensure even cooking. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices. | Not published |
See all 20 tasks
| Not much | Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using various kitchen utensils and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Substitute for or assist other cooks during emergencies or rush periods. | Not published |
| Not much | Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with utensils. | Not published |
| Not much | Wash, peel, cut, and seed fruits and vegetables to prepare them for consumption. | Not published |
| Not much | Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen staff. | Not published |
| Not much | Carve and trim meats such as beef, veal, ham, pork, and lamb for hot or cold service, or for sandwiches. | Not published |
| Not much | Bake breads, rolls, cakes, and pastries. | Not published |
| AI + software | Estimate expected food consumption, requisition or purchase supplies, or procure food from storage. | Not published |
| AI alone | Consult with supervisory staff to plan menus, taking into consideration factors such as costs and special event needs. | Not published |
| Not much | Prepare relishes and hors d'oeuvres. | Not published |
| Not much | Butcher and dress animals, fowl, or shellfish, or cut and bone meat prior to cooking. | Not published |
| AI alone | Plan and price menu items. | Not published |
| AI + software | Keep records and accounts. | under 0.01% |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 20 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 20 tasks fall under 15 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #36 Purchase goods or services
- #39 Determine values or prices of goods or services
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare foods or beverages | |||
| Inspect completed work or finished products | |||
| Purchase goods or services | |||
| Determine values or prices of goods or services | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Determine resource needs of projects or operations | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Develop recipes or menus |
Show all 15 activities
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Provide food or beverage services | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A recipe or meal plan46%
- Data or a spreadsheet19%
- An explanation or answer12%
- Advice or a recommendation8%
- An app or website3%
How they worked with Claude
14% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for cooks, restaurant specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 216,862 moves out
- 1 Chefs and Head Cooks Moderate +6.6% 10%
- 2 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 6%
- 3 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
- 5 Cashiers High -6.5% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 139,711 moves in
- 1 Chefs and Head Cooks Moderate +6.6% 7%
- 2 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 6%
- 3 Cashiers High -6.5% 6%
- 4 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 5%
- 5 Fast Food and Counter Workers Moderate +5.8% 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 34% less than high school
- 47% high school
- 6% some college
- 12% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 25 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 28% less than high school
- 42% high school
- 19% some college
- 5% associate's
- 5% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Cooks” · 20,501 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Cooks”
2 programs: Cooking and Related Culinary Arts, General and Culinary Arts/Chef Training.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
47.0% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 1.3% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 4 registered apprenticeships in this occupation. Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Cooks, Restaurant” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/35-2014.00