Cooks, Restaurant pay in Illinois
$39,520avg. a year
$19.00 an hour · 53,540 employed
Cooks, Restaurant in Illinois earn an average of $39,520 a year. That is $790 (2%) more than the U.S. average of $38,730. The best-paying metro area is St. Louis, MO-IL at $40,500.
$37,580Median pay
$19.00Average hourly
+33%Avg. pay since 2020
#20Of 50 states + D.C.
Top-paying Illinois metro areas
Average pay for cooks, restaurant by metro area. Swipe to see all 12.
112,970 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$40,500
$19.47 an hour
241,690 jobs
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$40,450
$19.45 an hour
3850 jobs
Springfield, IL
$37,420
$17.99 an hour
4970 jobs
Champaign-Urbana, IL
$37,020
$17.80 an hour
5320 jobs
Decatur, IL
$36,800
$17.69 an hour
61,130 jobs
Rockford, IL
$36,730
$17.66 an hour
7320 jobs
Kankakee, IL
$36,430
$17.51 an hour
81,420 jobs
Peoria, IL
$36,410
$17.50 an hour
9850 jobs
Bloomington, IL
$35,860
$17.24 an hour
101,560 jobs
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
$35,810
$17.21 an hour
11380 jobs
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
$34,230
$16.46 an hour
12490 jobs
Paducah, KY-IL
$32,510
$15.63 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Cooks, Restaurant pay in Illinois, charted
Pay over time
Illinois, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where Illinois cooks, restaurant work
Employment by metro area, May 2025
Related jobs in Illinois
Average pay, Illinois, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Questions and answers
How much do cooks, restaurant make in Illinois?
The average is $39,520 a year, and the median is $37,580. That is $790 (2%) more than the U.S. average of $38,730.
What is the hourly wage in Illinois?
$19.00 an hour on average; the median is $18.07.
Where in Illinois do they earn the most?
St. Louis, MO-IL ($40,500), followed by Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN ($40,450). The lowest average among 12 metro areas with data is Paducah, KY-IL ($32,510).
How does Illinois rank?
Illinois ranks #20 of 51 states (including D.C.) with published data for this job, by average pay.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 35-2014. State rank compares average pay across states with published data. Metro figures cover metropolitan statistical areas; a metro area can cross state lines. See also the national cooks, restaurant page. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.