Cooks, Restaurant pay in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
$36,530avg. a year
$17.56 an hour · 8,380 employed
Cooks, Restaurant in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area earn an average of $36,530 a year. That is $1,650 (4%) less than the Virginia average of $38,180. The U.S. average is $38,730.
$36,280Median pay
$17.56Average hourly
-4%vs. Virginia average
8,380Jobs in this metro
Other Virginia metro areas
Average pay for cooks, restaurant in other Virginia metro areas. Swipe to see all 10.
129,670 jobs
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
$42,590
$20.48 an hour
21,370 jobs
Charlottesville, VA
$37,910
$18.22 an hour
36,160 jobs
Richmond, VA
$37,100
$17.84 an hour
4500 jobs
Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA
$35,900
$17.26 an hour
5740 jobs
Harrisonburg, VA
$35,600
$17.12 an hour
6660 jobs
Winchester, VA-WV
$35,420
$17.03 an hour
7720 jobs
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA
$34,840
$16.75 an hour
81,000 jobs
Lynchburg, VA
$34,780
$16.72 an hour
91,560 jobs
Roanoke, VA
$34,370
$16.52 an hour
101,020 jobs
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
$33,800
$16.25 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.
How Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroVirginiaU.S.
Virginia metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $30,460 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $44,510 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $43,810 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $34,040 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $29,490 |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | $40,740 |
Questions and answers
How much do cooks, restaurant make in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk?
The average is $36,530 a year, and the median is $36,280. About 8,380 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the Virginia average?
That is $1,650 (4%) less than the Virginia average of $38,180.
Is this job common in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk?
It makes up 11.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 1.21 times the national share.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, occupation code 35-2014. Metro area: Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 47260). Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.