Cooks, Restaurant salary in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Cooks, Restaurant in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area — and the estimated take-home pay on the median wage under 2026 California tax rules.
Take-home estimate: single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in California; city and local taxes are not included. Full breakdown below.
The figures
The median Cooks, Restaurant in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earns $46,440 a year ($22.33 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Cooks, Restaurant in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn between $40,330 and $47,560 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $37,840 or less and the top 10 percent earn $51,820 or more. BLS estimates 15,670 Cooks, Restaurant jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA area — 10.191 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 1.12 (above the national concentration). That is 1.1% of all Cooks, Restaurant employment in the United States (1,409,890 jobs nationally). By employment, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA is the #18 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Cooks, Restaurant. In aggregate, Cooks, Restaurant in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn about $0.72 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $37,581.82 a year, so the aggregate take-home of San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Cooks, Restaurant is about $0.59 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 5.8% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #2 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Cooks, Restaurant. By employment, Cooks, Restaurant is the #15 largest of the 30 covered occupations in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Placed against the national distribution for Cooks, Restaurant, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $46,440 falls above the national 75th percentile of $44,620. Across all occupations, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median is $58,690 a year — Cooks, Restaurant pay is 20.9% below the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $22.00 | $45,770 |
| 10th percentile | $18.19 | $37,840 |
| 25th percentile | $19.39 | $40,330 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $22.33 | $46,440 |
| 75th percentile | $22.86 | $47,560 |
| 90th percentile | $24.91 | $51,820 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Cooks, Restaurant in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn 1.4 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($51,820 against $37,840). The middle half spans $7,230 — from $40,330 to $47,560. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($24.91) is 1.37 times the 10th ($18.19). In the upper half of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $47,560 takes home $38,925.66 and the 90th percentile wage of $51,820 takes home $42,061.42 — $3,135.76 more net for $4,260 more gross. Against the median take-home of $38,084.90, the top decile keeps 1.10 times as much. The mean wage of $45,770 sits 1.4% below the median: the average is held down by the lower end of the distribution in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Among the 30 covered occupations in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, Cooks, Restaurant ranks #21 by median pay. In the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA wage ladder of covered occupations, Cooks, Restaurant sits between First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers at $46,980 and Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand at $43,320. Cooks, Restaurant accounts for 1.0% of all employment in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area. The average covered metro employs 24,720 Cooks, Restaurant; San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA employs 0.6 times that.
Take-home pay on the median wage in California
Single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in California; city and local taxes are not included:
| Gross pay (annual) | $46,440.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $3,392.80 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $2,879.28 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $673.38 |
| California income tax | $805.90 |
| California SDI (State Disability Insurance) | $603.72 |
| Total deductions | $8,355.10 |
| Net pay (annual) | $38,084.90 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $1,464.80 |
| Total deduction rate | 17.99% of gross |
At the median, $38,084.90 of the $46,440 gross is kept ($1,464.80 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 17.99%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 16.41% at the 10th percentile, 16.94% at the 25th percentile, 18.15% at the 75th percentile, 18.83% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $5,426.38 on a gross rise of $7,230.
The same engine at the other published points of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($37,840) | $31,630.68 | $1,216.56 | 16.41% |
| 25th percentile ($40,330) | $33,499.28 | $1,288.43 | 16.94% |
| Median ($46,440) | $38,084.90 | $1,464.80 | 17.99% |
| 75th percentile ($47,560) | $38,925.66 | $1,497.14 | 18.15% |
| 90th percentile ($51,820) | $42,061.42 | $1,617.75 | 18.83% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $31,630.68 a year at the 10th percentile to $42,061.42 at the 90th — a spread of $10,430.74 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median wage of $58,690 takes home $47,079.96 a year ($1,810.77 per paycheck, deduction rate 19.78%). The Cooks, Restaurant median take-home of $38,084.90 sits $8,995.06 (19.1%) below the area-wide median take-home of $47,079.96.
Run your own numbers
Your own withholding depends on your Form W-4, your benefits and your other income — run your exact figures through the calculator:
Against the national median
Nationally, the median Cooks, Restaurant earns $37,390 a year ($17.98 an hour). The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $46,440 is $9,050 (24.2%) above the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $45,770 a year in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA against $38,730 nationally, a gap of $7,040 (18.2%).
Set against the whole local market, the Cooks, Restaurant 90th percentile of $51,820 is 34% of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA all-occupations 90th percentile ($152,580), and its 10th percentile of $37,840 is 104% of the area-wide 10th ($36,250).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $46,440 | $22.33 | $45,770 |
| United States | $37,390 | $17.98 | $38,730 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Cooks, Restaurant in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$46,440 a year ($22.33 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $45,770 a year. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #2 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $46,440 in California?
About $38,084.90 a year ($1,464.80 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 17.99% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $47,560, take-home is $38,925.66.
How does pay in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA compare with the national median for Cooks, Restaurant?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $46,440 is $9,050 (24.2%) above the national median of $37,390 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $51,820, against a national 90th percentile of $47,900.
How much do the top 10% of Cooks, Restaurant earn in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$51,820 a year or more ($24.91 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Cooks, Restaurant in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
On $51,820 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $42,061.42 a year ($1,617.75 per biweekly paycheck) in California under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 18.83%.
How many Cooks, Restaurant jobs are there in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
BLS estimates 15,670 Cooks, Restaurant jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area — 10.191 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Cooks, Restaurant jobs in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
The location quotient is 1.12 — above the national concentration. A quotient of 1.0 means the occupation's share of local employment equals its national share.
How much does take-home pay vary for Cooks, Restaurant in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
From $31,630.68 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($37,840) to $42,061.42 at the 90th ($51,820), under the same single-filer assumptions in California.
What is the total wage bill for Cooks, Restaurant in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
About $0.72 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 15,670 multiplied by the mean wage of $45,770.
Sources and method
Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. OEWS figures are survey estimates for May 2025, not job offers. Take-home pay is computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 federal and state rules; the method, and what the engine does not model, is documented in the paycheck methodology guide. Estimates only — not tax advice.