Cooks, Fast Food
Also called: Cook, Cook Line Worker, Fast Food Cook, Fast Food Fry Cook, Fast Food Worker, Food Cook, Food Service Cook, Fry Cook
Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu.
What cooks, fast food do
Typical tasks
- Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions.
- Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
- Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils.
- Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles.
- Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
- Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously.
- Prepare specialty foods, such as pizzas, fish and chips, sandwiches, or tacos, following specific methods that usually require short preparation time.
- Verify that prepared food meets requirements for quality and quantity.
- Serve orders to customers at windows, counters, or tables.
- Wash, cut, and prepare foods designated for cooking.
- Clean, stock, and restock workstations and display cases.
- Cook and package batches of food, such as hamburgers or fried chicken, prepared to order or kept warm until sold.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Cooks, Fast Food salary
The median annual wage for cooks, fast food is $30,890 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $22,580 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $42,910. The mean annual wage is $32,390.
The mean hourly wage of $15.00 is 2.1× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Cooks, Fast Food (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $30,890 → in 3 years $33,700 → in 5 years $35,700 → in 10 years $41,300 (10-year range $35,500–$47,900). The model assumes pay growth of +2.9% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Cooks, Fast Food
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Cooks, Fast Food? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Cooks, Fast Food
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Cooks, Fast Food
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become cooks, fast food
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as cooks, fast food
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.