Best states for a School Cafeteria Cook

Q: What is the best state for school cafeteria cooks?

The best state to be a school cafeteria cook is Alaska based on school cafeteria cook salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for school cafeteria cooks?

The highest paying state for school cafeteria cooks is Louisiana based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for school cafeteria cooks?

The worst state for school cafeteria cooks is Florida, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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Do you want to become a school cafeteria cook at SAGE Dining Services, and you wonder what that means or entails? We have the full list of best states for school cafeteria cooks that you can check out, before you begin your journey. This way, if you are newly entering the job market, or you are looking to change jobs, you know which places are the best for school cafeteria cook jobs.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for school cafeteria cooks. Alaska is the best state for school cafeteria cooks, where the median salary is $51,521.Alaska is the best state, and Anchorage is the city with the highest pay for school cafeteria cooks.

If you're looking for a School Cafeteria Cook job, here are five companies hiring now:

10 best states for school cafeteria cooks in 2025

1. Alaska
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 155
Average Annual Salary: $51,521
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $34,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $76,000
Location Quotient:
1.29
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Alaska
2. Utah
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 523
Average Annual Salary: $45,224
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $31,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $65,000
Location Quotient:
1.14
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Utah
3. Idaho
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 307
Average Annual Salary: $40,974
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $27,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $60,000
Location Quotient:
1.3
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Idaho
4. Connecticut
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 662
Average Annual Salary: $40,235
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $26,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $61,000
Location Quotient:
1.39
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Connecticut
5. Mississippi
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 438
Average Annual Salary: $37,670
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $26,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $53,000
Location Quotient:
1.43
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Mississippi
6. Pennsylvania
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 2,215
Average Annual Salary: $36,239
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $24,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $54,000
Location Quotient:
1.32
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Pennsylvania
7. Washington
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 919
Average Annual Salary: $43,515
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $28,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $65,000
Location Quotient:
0.87
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Washington
8. North Dakota
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 125
Average Annual Salary: $42,036
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $30,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $58,000
Location Quotient:
0.93
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in North Dakota
9. New Jersey
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 1,263
Average Annual Salary: $40,900
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $26,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $62,000
Location Quotient:
1.1
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in New Jersey
10. Maryland
Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs: 1,039
Average Annual Salary: $40,682
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: $27,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn: $60,000
Location Quotient:
1.14
School Cafeteria Cook Jobs in Maryland

School Cafeteria Cook JobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a school cafeteria cook

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a school cafeteria cook

Rank	State	Average Salary	Lowest 10% Earn	Population	Job Count
1	Alaska	$51,521	$34,000	739,795	155
2	Utah	$45,224	$31,000	3,101,833	523
3	Idaho	$40,974	$27,000	1,716,943	307
4	Connecticut	$40,235	$26,000	3,588,184	662
5	Mississippi	$37,670	$26,000	2,984,100	438
6	Pennsylvania	$36,239	$24,000	12,805,537	2,215
7	Washington	$43,515	$28,000	7,405,743	919
8	North Dakota	$42,036	$30,000	755,393	125
9	New Jersey	$40,900	$26,000	9,005,644	1,263
10	Maryland	$40,682	$27,000	6,052,177	1,039
11	Maine	$39,480	$28,000	1,335,907	194
12	California	$42,245	$27,000	39,536,653	4,363
13	Oregon	$38,862	$25,000	4,142,776	694
14	New Hampshire	$36,794	$25,000	1,342,795	271
15	Massachusetts	$40,881	$27,000	6,859,819	1,085
16	Nevada	$40,282	$26,000	2,998,039	245
17	Rhode Island	$37,632	$24,000	1,059,639	180
18	New York	$38,861	$25,000	19,849,399	1,989
19	Nebraska	$39,856	$28,000	1,920,076	198
20	Wyoming	$32,860	$23,000	579,315	98
21	Montana	$32,045	$22,000	1,050,493	256
22	West Virginia	$31,864	$22,000	1,815,857	266
23	Delaware	$36,076	$23,000	961,939	176
24	Minnesota	$33,199	$23,000	5,576,606	1,161
25	Michigan	$33,680	$23,000	9,962,311	989
26	Hawaii	$38,980	$30,000	1,427,538	105
27	Oklahoma	$30,210	$21,000	3,930,864	674
28	Vermont	$34,168	$24,000	623,657	87
29	Arizona	$32,274	$22,000	7,016,270	843
30	Virginia	$33,196	$22,000	8,470,020	1,386
31	Wisconsin	$30,828	$21,000	5,795,483	830
32	Tennessee	$29,811	$21,000	6,715,984	897
33	New Mexico	$28,452	$19,000	2,088,070	424
34	Kentucky	$30,404	$21,000	4,454,189	515
35	Iowa	$28,624	$20,000	3,145,711	642
36	North Carolina	$30,888	$22,000	10,273,419	1,137
37	Colorado	$31,861	$22,000	5,607,154	740
38	Ohio	$30,710	$21,000	11,658,609	1,096
39	South Dakota	$30,717	$21,000	869,666	116
40	Indiana	$29,750	$21,000	6,666,818	912
41	District of Columbia	$34,645	$23,000	693,972	117
42	Kansas	$26,599	$19,000	2,913,123	549
43	Missouri	$27,080	$19,000	6,113,532	1,055
44	Alabama	$29,855	$21,000	4,874,747	445
45	Arkansas	$24,975	$17,000	3,004,279	498
46	Louisiana	$23,873	$16,000	4,684,333	580
47	Georgia	$29,218	$21,000	10,429,379	866
48	Illinois	$27,601	$19,000	12,802,023	1,645
49	Texas	$26,545	$18,000	28,304,596	2,866
50	South Carolina	$27,671	$19,000	5,024,369	546
51	Florida	$24,063	$16,000	20,984,400	1,758

Highest paying states for school cafeteria cooks

Rank	State	Avg. School Cafeteria Cook Salary
1	Alaska	$51,521
2	Utah	$45,224
3	Idaho	$40,974
4	Connecticut	$40,235
5	Mississippi	$37,670
6	Pennsylvania	$36,239
7	Washington	$43,515
8	North Dakota	$42,036
9	New Jersey	$40,900
10	Maryland	$40,682
11	Maine	$39,480
12	California	$42,245
13	Oregon	$38,862
14	New Hampshire	$36,794
15	Massachusetts	$40,881
16	Nevada	$40,282
17	Rhode Island	$37,632
18	New York	$38,861
19	Nebraska	$39,856
20	Wyoming	$32,860
21	Montana	$32,045
22	West Virginia	$31,864
23	Delaware	$36,076
24	Minnesota	$33,199
25	Michigan	$33,680
26	Hawaii	$38,980
27	Oklahoma	$30,210
28	Vermont	$34,168
29	Arizona	$32,274
30	Virginia	$33,196
31	Wisconsin	$30,828
32	Tennessee	$29,811
33	New Mexico	$28,452
34	Kentucky	$30,404
35	Iowa	$28,624
36	North Carolina	$30,888
37	Colorado	$31,861
38	Ohio	$30,710
39	South Dakota	$30,717
40	Indiana	$29,750
41	District of Columbia	$34,645
42	Kansas	$26,599
43	Missouri	$27,080
44	Alabama	$29,855
45	Arkansas	$24,975
46	Louisiana	$23,873
47	Georgia	$29,218
48	Illinois	$27,601
49	Texas	$26,545
50	South Carolina	$27,671
51	Florida	$24,063

School Cafeteria Cook best states FAQs

What is the best state for school cafeteria cooks?

What is the highest paying state for school cafeteria cooks?

What is the worst state for school cafeteria cooks?

Have more questions? See all answers to common food preparation and restaurant questions.

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
School Cafeteria Cook
Best states for School Cafeteria Cooks

Updated January 8, 2025

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Total School Cafeteria Cook Jobs:	155
Average Annual Salary:	$51,521
Lowest 10 Percent Earn:	$34,000
Highest 10 Percent Earn:	$76,000
Location Quotient:	1.29

Best states for a School Cafeteria Cook

If you're looking for a School Cafeteria Cook job, here are five companies hiring now:

10 best states for school cafeteria cooks in 2025

1. Alaska

2. Utah

3. Idaho

4. Connecticut

5. Mississippi

6. Pennsylvania

7. Washington

8. North Dakota

9. New Jersey

10. Maryland