Cooks, Short Order pay range in Salinas
New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $36,080 a year or less, while the top 10% make $45,720 or more. The middle half of cooks, short order in Salinas earn between $37,870 and $44,980.
- $36K10th
- $38K25th
- $41KMedian
- $45K75th
- $46K90th
median average · bar = middle 50% of workers
| Pay level | Per year | Per month | Per hour* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | $41,920 | $3,493 | $20.15 |
| Median | $40,550 | $3,379 | $19.50 |
| Entry level (25th percentile) | $37,870 | $3,156 | $18.21 |
| Experienced (75th percentile) | $44,980 | $3,748 | $21.62 |
*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.
Cooks, Short Order salary after taxes in Salinas
On the average salary of $41,920, a single filer in Salinas takes home about $35,050 a year, or $2,921 a month and $1,348 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 Salinas a good place for cooks, short order? Pay vs. cost of living
Prices in the Salinas area are 9% above the U.S. average (BEA price parity 109.0), so the average $41,920 buys what about $38,444 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 0.9 times the median wage of all jobs in Salinas ($47,380). A typical home costs $850,461, or 20.3 years of this average salary before tax.
Cooks, Short Order salary in other California cities
Salinas ranks 7th of 24 California metro areas for this job; San Francisco pays the most ($46,250).
- San Francisco$46,250
- San Jose$45,720
- Santa Rosa$45,590
- Napa$44,260
- Vallejo$44,070
- Los Angeles$42,440
- Salinas$41,920
- Oxnard$41,900
- Sacramento$41,130
- Santa Cruz$41,130
Highest-paying cities for cooks, short order
Kahului, HI pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($52,560).
- Kahului, HI$52,560
- Denver, CO$51,530
- Seattle, WA$49,560
- Corvallis, OR$48,580
- San Francisco, CA$46,250
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Cooks, Short Order salary in Salinas: questions
How much do cooks, short order make an hour in Salinas?
$20.16 an hour on average, and $19.49 at the median (BLS, May 2025).
What is the entry-level cooks, short order salary in Salinas?
The lowest-paid 10% earn about $36,080 a year and the 25th percentile is $37,870, a fair guide to starting pay.
What is the cooks, short order take-home pay in Salinas?
About $35,050 a year ($2,921 a month) for a single filer on the average salary of $41,920. California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
Do cooks, short order earn more in Salinas than elsewhere?
The average here is 11% more than the U.S. metro average for this job ($37,675).
Sources and how to read this page
- Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates for metropolitan areas. SOC code 35-2015; area Salinas, CA (41500). Relative standard error of the mean wage: 1.7%.
- Cost of living: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (RPP), 2024; 100 = U.S. average.
- Home value: Zillow Home Value Index. Typical-wage figure: OEWS all occupations, same metro.
- Take-home 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.
- Job concentration: location quotient 1.59, this job is 1.6 times as concentrated as in the U.S. overall.
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