SALARY · COOKS, RESTAURANT · COLORADO

Cooks, Restaurant salary in Colorado

A job title alone does not tell you what you will earn. Place matters, sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars. In Colorado, cooks, restaurant sat at a median of $41,600 a year, which is the figure I would use first when you compare offers.

MEDIAN ANNUAL SALARY

$41,600

$20 per hour at the median · That is $4,210 (11.3 percent) above the national median of $37,390 for this occupation.

$42,360Mean annual salary
$20Mean hourly wage
$30,600People employed in this job in Colorado

Salary range

25th: $36,930Median: $41,60075th: $45,740
MeasureAnnual
25th percentile$36,930
Median (50th percentile)$41,600
75th percentile$45,740
Mean$42,360

The middle half of workers earned from $36,930 to $45,740 a year. Employment size matters too. A field with many workers in a state usually means more openings and more room to move employers without moving states. A small field can pay well but offer fewer ways in.

What stays in your pocket on the median salary

ESTIMATED TAKE-HOME PAY

$34,484 a year
$2,874 a month
Federal tax $2,812 · FICA $3,182 · State tax $1,122

Caveat: the Colorado worksheet was retrieved via a reproduction, not a direct tax.colorado.gov page, and TABOR refunds are excluded.

The Denver occupational privilege tax is a flat dollar charge and is not in this figure.

Read this before you use the take-home figure. It is a single-filer estimate using the 2026 standard deduction. It leaves out credits, other deductions, local taxes, and retirement or health deductions. Your actual paycheck can differ, and for states without a verified 2026 table in this build, state tax is still to be added once its table is verified.

Same job, other states

Other jobs in Colorado

Try your own salary in the paycheck calculator