Cooks, Restaurant salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Cooks, Restaurant in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area earns $46,030 a year ($22.13 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Cooks, Restaurant in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA earn between $44,340 and $49,360 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $40,720 or less and the top 10 percent earn $58,940 or more. BLS estimates 20,540 Cooks, Restaurant jobs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area — 8.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.95 (about the same concentration as the nation). That is 1.5% of all Cooks, Restaurant employment in the United States (1,409,890 jobs nationally). By employment, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is the #13 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Cooks, Restaurant. In aggregate, Cooks, Restaurant in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA earn about $1.00 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $39,728.38 a year, so the aggregate take-home of San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Cooks, Restaurant is about $0.82 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 7% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA stands #3 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Cooks, Restaurant. By employment, Cooks, Restaurant is the #18 largest of the 30 covered occupations in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Placed against the national distribution for Cooks, Restaurant, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median of $46,030 falls above the national 75th percentile of $44,620. Across all occupations, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median is $74,260 a year — Cooks, Restaurant pay is 38.0% below the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $23.38 | $48,630 |
| 10th percentile | $19.58 | $40,720 |
| 25th percentile | $21.32 | $44,340 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $22.13 | $46,030 |
| 75th percentile | $23.73 | $49,360 |
| 90th percentile | $28.34 | $58,940 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Cooks, Restaurant in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA earn 1.4 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($58,940 against $40,720). The middle half spans $5,020 — from $44,340 to $49,360. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($28.34) is 1.45 times the 10th ($19.58). In the upper half of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $49,360 takes home $40,264.42 and the 90th percentile wage of $58,940 takes home $47,262.62 — $6,998.20 more net for $9,580 more gross. Against the median take-home of $37,777.08, the top decile keeps 1.25 times as much. The mean wage of $48,630 sits 5.6% above the median: higher-paid Cooks, Restaurant pull the average up in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Among the 30 covered occupations in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, Cooks, Restaurant ranks #22 by median pay. In the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA wage ladder of covered occupations, Cooks, Restaurant sits between Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand at $48,400 and Security Guards at $45,730. Cooks, Restaurant accounts for 0.9% of all employment in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area. The average covered metro employs 24,720 Cooks, Restaurant; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA employs 0.8 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) | $46,030.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $3,343.60 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $2,853.86 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $667.44 |
| California income tax | $789.50 |
| California SDI (State Disability Insurance) | $598.39 |
| Total deductions | $8,252.92 |
| Net pay (annual) | $37,777.08 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $1,452.96 |
| Total deduction rate | 17.93% of gross |
At the median, $37,777.08 of the $46,030 gross is kept ($1,452.96 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 17.93%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 17.01% at the 10th percentile, 17.66% at the 25th percentile, 18.43% at the 75th percentile, 19.81% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $3,755.62 on a gross rise of $5,020.
The same engine at the other published points of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($40,720) | $33,792.04 | $1,299.69 | 17.01% |
| 25th percentile ($44,340) | $36,508.80 | $1,404.18 | 17.66% |
| Median ($46,030) | $37,777.08 | $1,452.96 | 17.93% |
| 75th percentile ($49,360) | $40,264.42 | $1,548.63 | 18.43% |
| 90th percentile ($58,940) | $47,262.62 | $1,817.79 | 19.81% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $33,792.04 a year at the 10th percentile to $47,262.62 at the 90th — a spread of $13,470.58 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median wage of $74,260 takes home $57,500.66 a year ($2,211.56 per paycheck, deduction rate 22.57%). The Cooks, Restaurant median take-home of $37,777.08 sits $19,723.58 (34.3%) below the area-wide median take-home of $57,500.66.
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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median of $46,030 is $8,640 (23.1%) above the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $48,630 a year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA against $38,730 nationally, a gap of $9,900 (25.6%).
Set against the whole local market, the Cooks, Restaurant 90th percentile of $58,940 is 29% of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA all-occupations 90th percentile ($203,570), and its 10th percentile of $40,720 is 104% of the area-wide 10th ($39,260).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $46,030 | $22.13 | $48,630 |
| United States | $37,390 | $17.98 | $38,730 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Cooks, Restaurant in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
$46,030 a year ($22.13 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $48,630 a year. Ranked by median pay, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA stands #3 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $46,030 in California?
About $37,777.08 a year ($1,452.96 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 17.93% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $49,360, take-home is $40,264.42.
How does pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA compare with the national median for Cooks, Restaurant?
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median of $46,030 is $8,640 (23.1%) above the national median of $37,390 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $58,940, against a national 90th percentile of $47,900.
How much do the top 10% of Cooks, Restaurant earn in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
$58,940 a year or more ($28.34 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
On $58,940 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $47,262.62 a year ($1,817.79 per biweekly paycheck) in California under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 19.81%.
How many Cooks, Restaurant jobs are there in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
BLS estimates 20,540 Cooks, Restaurant jobs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area — 8.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Cooks, Restaurant jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
The location quotient is 0.95 — about the same concentration as the nation. 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
From $33,792.04 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($40,720) to $47,262.62 at the 90th ($58,940), under the same single-filer assumptions in California.
What is the total wage bill for Cooks, Restaurant in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
About $1.00 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 20,540 multiplied by the mean wage of $48,630.
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.