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The median salary for Cooks, Fast Food in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is $30,306 per year ($14.57/hr). This is 1.9% lower than the national median of $30,888.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.
Wage Percentiles: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$13.24
$27,539
+21.9%
P25
$13.46
$27,997
+2.7%
P50MEDIAN
$14.57
$30,306
-1.9%
P75
$18.21
$37,877
+1.6%
P90Top earners
$19.40
$40,352
-6.0%
Get the full percentile report
P10–P90 breakdown, career outlook, industry wages, and JOLTS market signal for Cooks
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Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-13.5%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
82K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
670K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 2 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Restaurants and Other Eating Places
NAICS 722500
615K
$30,780
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)
NAICS 4450A1
9K
$36,440
Wage range across top 5 industries: $30,780 to $36,440 (18% spread)
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Full percentile breakdown · JOLTS market signals · Geographic comparison · AI analyst briefs
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median cooks, fast food salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
The median (P50) annual salary for Cooks, Fast Food in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is approximately $30,306, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 1.9% lower than the national median of $30,888. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.