What Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria earn in King County, WA
The median pay for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA is $51,530 per year, which works out to $24.77 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, the labor market that King County, WA belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $53,820, which is 4.4% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 5,380 people working in this occupation across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. King County, WA has roughly 2,287,171 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $45,250 a year ($21.75 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $63,510 or more ($30.53 an hour). That is a gap of $18,260 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $47,590 at the 25th percentile and $60,420 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.4 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA is $24.77. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $51,530, and the same salary is $4,294 a month before taxes or about $1,982 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $20.93 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria this way: "Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Clean and inspect galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas to ensure cleanliness and functional operation"; "Apportion and serve food to facility residents, employees, or patrons"; "Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served"; "Clean, cut, and cook meat, fish, or poultry".
Job outlook for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 454,000 jobs in 2025 to 466,600 in 2035, a change of +2.8%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 62,900 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 13.9% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $37,450 for this occupation; the King County, WA median of $51,530 is 37.6% above it.
How pay in King County, WA compares
Compared with the Washington average
King County, WA pays above the state benchmark. The Washington employment-weighted average for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is $48,467; the local median of $51,530 beats it by $3,063, or 6.3%. Within Washington, King County, WA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is $37,849 across the contiguous United States. At $51,530, King County, WA pays $13,681 more, which is 36.1% above 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 King County, WA
Among the 612 occupations with published wages in King County, WA, Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria ranks number 502 by median pay, ahead of about 18% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $214,680 a year, which is $163,150 more than the median for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $51,530 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $7,997 a year, which leaves $43,533, or $3,628 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.5%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $35,780. 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 $4,055, an effective 7.9% 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 $3,195 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $747. FICA totals $3,942, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Washington
There is no state income tax on wages in Washington, which means Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA keep the full $43,533 left after federal and payroll taxes. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $2,577 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $215 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for King County, WA
IRS Statistics of Income data for King County, WA show an average adjusted gross income of $164,464 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.9% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 8.2%, compared with the 7.9% 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 King County, WA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in King County, WA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $43,533 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in King County, WA is $2,180 a month, or $26,160 a year. A two-bedroom costs $2,549 a month. For Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, a one-bedroom absorbs 60.1% of take-home pay and 50.8% 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 6.7% of gross pay for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Washington residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,257 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $475, for $1,732 in total. Gasoline in Washington averages $4.07 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,883.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $33,210 a year, 76% of take-home pay. That leaves $10,323 a year, or $860 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 20.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for King County, WA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in King County, WA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for King County, WA, set beside the Washington and national medians.
Property taxes in King County, WA
Homeowners in King County, WA pay a median of $7,114 a year in real estate taxes, 56% above the Washington median of $4,556 and 128% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $859,900, the median tax bill is 0.83% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria median of $51,530, a tax bill of that size would equal 13.8% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in King County, WA
Renters in King County, WA pay a median gross rent of $2,092 a month in the Census survey, 19% above the Washington median of $1,760. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,180 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $859,900, 52% above the Washington median of $564,600. Median household income is $124,746, 27% above the Washington median of $98,141, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 21.0% of that income.
Commuting in King County, WA
Workers in King County, WA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 27.6 minutes each way, 4% above the Washington average of 26.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.6 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 29.2% of workers in King County, WA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria afford to live in King County, WA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $51,530 that ceiling is $1,288 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,180 is $892 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $41.92 an hour; the median for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is $24.77, which is 41% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $20.93 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 24.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,549 a month means $1,275 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $10,866 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $21,189.
How fast you can save
At $860 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 12 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 24 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria pay in King County, WA
What is the hourly wage for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA?
The median is $24.77 per hour, based on $51,530 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $21.75 at the 10th percentile to $30.53 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $51,530 becomes $43,533 a year. That is $3,628 a month, $1,674 every two weeks or $837 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA?
Total taxes are $7,997 a year, an effective rate of 15.5%: $4,055 federal income tax, $3,942 FICA and no Washington income tax.
Is pay for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA above the Washington average?
Yes. The local median of $51,530 is +6.3% versus the Washington average of $48,467, a difference of $3,063 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria salary in King County, WA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,180 a month against take-home pay of $3,628, which is 60.1% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,288 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in King County, WA?
About $860 a month ($10,323 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,210 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in King County, WA at the 30% guideline?
$41.92 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,160 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is $24.77.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 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 Washington 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.