Cooks, Restaurant Salary in Merced, CA

Cooks, Restaurant pay range in Merced

New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $35,330 a year or less, while the top 10% make $47,510 or more. The middle half of cooks, restaurant in Merced earn between $36,810 and $45,340.

*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.

Cooks, Restaurant salary after taxes in Merced

On the average salary of $40,920, a single filer in Merced takes home about $34,287 a year, or $2,857 a month and $1,319 every two weeks. Taxes take 16% of gross pay.

Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules). California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.

Is Merced a good place for cooks, restaurant? Pay vs. cost of living

Prices in the Merced area are 2% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 98.3), so the average $40,920 buys what about $41,638 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 0.8 times the median wage of all jobs in Merced ($47,220). A typical home costs $419,171, or 10.2 years of this average salary before tax.

See what $40,920 is worth in another city

Cooks, Restaurant salary in other California cities

Merced ranks 18th of 25 California metro areas for this job; San Jose pays the most ($49,390).

All Cooks, Restaurant salaries in California

Highest-paying cities for cooks, restaurant

Kahului, HI pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($54,460).

Cooks, Restaurant salary by city

Related jobs in Merced

• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$45,000 a year
• Food Preparation Workers$40,150 a year
• Cooks, Fast Food$39,880 a year
• Cooks, Short Order$38,400 a year
• Chefs and Head Cooks$65,520 a year
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$50,280 a year
• Bartenders$41,670 a year
• Fast Food and Counter Workers$39,970 a year

Average salary in Merced and every job