SALARY · COOKS, RESTAURANT · KENTUCKY

Cooks, Restaurant salary in Kentucky

People ask me what a job pays, and my honest answer is always: it depends on the state. For cooks, restaurant in Kentucky, the middle of the field earned $34,640 a year. Use that as your anchor, then look at experience, employer size and city before you judge any single offer.

MEDIAN ANNUAL SALARY

$34,640

$17 per hour at the median · That is $2,750 (7.4 percent) below the national median of $37,390 for this occupation.

$33,700Mean annual salary

$16Mean hourly wage

$13,510People employed in this job in Kentucky

Salary range

25th: $28,850Median: $34,64075th: $37,200

Measure	Annual
25th percentile	$28,850
Median (50th percentile)	$34,640
75th percentile	$37,200
Mean	$33,700

The middle half of workers earned from $28,850 to $37,200 a year. Hourly pay matters if your hours vary. An annual figure can look strong while the hourly rate tells a different story, especially in jobs with seasonal hours or overtime. Check both before you compare two offers.

What stays in your pocket on the median salary

ESTIMATED TAKE-HOME PAY

$28,918 a year

$2,410 a month

Federal tax $1,977 · FICA $2,650 · State tax $1,095

Caveat: the Kentucky form was retrieved via a reproduction, not directly from revenue.ky.gov.

Kentucky city and county occupational taxes are separate and are 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 Kentucky

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