Line cook salary in 2026
Median pay, hourly rates, top-paying cities, and live line cook jobs from MAJC's coverage area. Numbers below combine U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics with 171 active postings. Hiring? Use the free line cook job description template.
Median (national)
$36,420
$17.51/hr · BLS May 2024
Top 10 percent
$51K+
$24.33/hr effective
MAJC posted median
$22
From 102 disclosed
National pay for line cooks
$36,420median, full year
About $17.51/hr. Top 10 percent earn $51K+.
Of 102 MAJC postings disclosing salary in this category, median is $22. Source: actual job postings
BLS Occupation 35-2014Cooks, Restaurant, May 2024. Source
Want to see where your own paycheck sits? Use the free Am I paid fairly checker. Pick this role, your state, and what you take home.
Line cook pay by city
MAJC-active metros with at least one disclosed line cook salary in the last 14 days. Median is across disclosed postings only; sample size noted per row.
How line cooks push pay above median
- Volume + format leverage. High-cover-count concepts (200+ covers, multi-outlet hotels) pay more than small independents — same role, different scope.
- Specialized knowledge. Wine or spirits certification, specific cuisine training, or technical systems (POS, inventory) all command premiums.
- Bilingual fluency. English/Spanish in the U.S. hospitality market is consistently worth a meaningful bump.
- Tenure + leadership. "Lead" or "Head" prefixes typically signal 15–30% over an "Associate" version of the same role.
- Disclosed-salary postings. Filter MAJC for line cook jobs with disclosed pay — those tend to be the ones that compete on number, not vibes.
Top-paying live line cook jobs right now
Highest disclosed salaries across 171 active line cook postings.
- $48k to $54k
Cook
- $43k to $48k
COOK
- $35 to $45
Amazing Athletes Afterschool Cooking Instructor
- $20 to $36
Line Cook
Frequently asked
- What is the average line cook salary?
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual pay for cooks, restaurant is $36,420 ($17.51/hr) as of May 2024. The top 10% earn $51K or more.
- How much does a line cook make per hour?
- BLS reports a median hourly rate of $17.51/hr for cooks, restaurant. Tipped roles (server, bartender, busser) can substantially exceed the base hourly with gratuities.
- Which cities pay line cooks the most?
- Major metros (Miami, Houston, and high-tourist coastal cities) typically pay line cooks 10–20% above the national median. See the city breakdown above for live disclosed rates.
- What skills increase line cook pay the most?
- In hospitality, the biggest pay drivers are: specialized cuisine or beverage knowledge, fluency in a second language (Spanish in the U.S.), high-volume service experience, and proven leadership of a team. POS proficiency (Toast, Tock, Resy) and inventory or P&L responsibility also push pay above median.
- How do I find a line cook job that pays above median?
- Filter MAJC's line cook listings by "Salary listed" to surface postings with disclosed pay, then sort by salary. Hotels and high-cover-count restaurants tend to disclose more often than smaller independents. Browse all 171 line cook listings below.