What Cooks, Restaurant earn in Mecklenburg County, NC
According to the latest federal wage data for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area, the median pay for Cooks, Restaurant in Mecklenburg County, NC is $37,030 a year, or $17.80 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $30,850 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Mecklenburg County, NC.
The mean wage is $37,110, which is 0.2% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 14,430 people working in this occupation across the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Mecklenburg County, NC has roughly 1,154,681 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Cooks, Restaurant in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $29,210 a year ($14.04 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $45,980 or more ($22.11 an hour). That is a gap of $16,770 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $30,250 at the 25th percentile and $41,840 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.80 an hour or $37,030 a year at the median for Mecklenburg County, NC. Before any deductions, that is $3,086 a month, $1,424 every two weeks and $712 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.83 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Mecklenburg County, NC compares
Compared with the North Carolina average
A worker in this occupation in Mecklenburg County, NC earns $1,944 more than the North Carolina average of $35,086, a premium of 5.5%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,944 before tax and roughly $1,620 after tax.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Cooks, Restaurant is $38,193 across the contiguous United States. At $37,030, Mecklenburg County, NC pays $1,163 less, which is 3.0% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Mecklenburg County, NC
Among the 583 occupations with published wages in Mecklenburg County, NC, Cooks, Restaurant ranks number 528 by median pay, ahead of about 9% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $135,920 a year, which is $98,890 more than the median for Cooks, Restaurant.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Cooks, Restaurant earning the Mecklenburg County, NC median of $37,030, they add up to $6,180. The result is $30,850 of take-home pay a year ($2,571 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $17 goes to taxes and $83 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $21,280. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,315, an effective 6.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,296 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $537. FICA totals $2,833, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in North Carolina
North Carolina income tax on this salary is $1,032 a year, or 2.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 45% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $86 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Mecklenburg County, NC
IRS Statistics of Income data for Mecklenburg County, NC show an average adjusted gross income of $111,114 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.5%, compared with the 6.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Mecklenburg County, NC
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Mecklenburg County, NC: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $30,850 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Mecklenburg County, NC, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,640 a month ($19,680 a year), and at $1,785 for two bedrooms. For Cooks, Restaurant, a one-bedroom absorbs 63.8% of take-home pay and 53.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.3% of gross pay for Cooks, Restaurant in Mecklenburg County, NC. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using North Carolina residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,493 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $645, for $2,138 in total. Gasoline in North Carolina averages $3.18 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,472.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $26,726 a year in Mecklenburg County, NC. Subtract that from $30,850 of take-home pay and $4,125 remains, which is $344 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 11.1% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Cooks, Restaurant afford to live in Mecklenburg County, NC?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $37,030 that ceiling is $926 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,640 is $714 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.54 an hour; the median for Cooks, Restaurant is $17.80, which is 44% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.83 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 25.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,785 a month means $893 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,970 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $13,095.
How fast you can save
At $344 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 30 months (2.5 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 60 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Cooks, Restaurant pay in Mecklenburg County, NC
How much do Cooks, Restaurant make per hour in Mecklenburg County, NC?
The median is $17.80 per hour, based on $37,030 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $14.04 at the 10th percentile to $22.11 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Cooks, Restaurant take home after taxes in Mecklenburg County, NC?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $37,030 becomes $30,850 a year. That is $2,571 a month, $1,187 every two weeks or $593 a week.
How much tax do Cooks, Restaurant pay in Mecklenburg County, NC?
Total taxes are $6,180 a year, an effective rate of 16.7%: $2,315 federal income tax, $2,833 FICA and $1,032 North Carolina income tax.
Do Cooks, Restaurant earn more in Mecklenburg County, NC than elsewhere in North Carolina?
Yes. The local median of $37,030 is +5.5% versus the North Carolina average of $35,086, a difference of $1,944 a year.
Can Cooks, Restaurant afford a one-bedroom apartment in Mecklenburg County, NC?
A one-bedroom costs $1,640 a month against take-home pay of $2,571, which is 63.8% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $926 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Cooks, Restaurant in Mecklenburg County, NC?
About $344 a month ($4,125 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,726 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Mecklenburg County, NC at the 30% guideline?
$31.54 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,680 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Cooks, Restaurant is $17.80.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the North Carolina rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.