Prep Cook Demographics and Statistics in the US – 2024
We’ve collected numerous Prep Cook statistics and compiled them in the article below. Here are just the main Prep Cook interesting statistics you might have wondered about.
- Just 38.7% of all Prep Cooks in the U.S. are women
- The average national Prep Cook Salary is $15.59 per hour or $32,427 per annum
- Prep Cooks in Washington State earn the highest average salary at $39,036
- Two-thirds of all Prep Cooks work in the hospitality sector
- 74% of Prep Cooks change their job or get promoted within two years
- Over 70% of Prep Cooks who speak a second language know Spanish
- Only 8.6% of Prep Cooks are of Asian descent
- The percentage of Prep Cooks who have a bachelor’s degree is 13%
Prep Cook Employment Statistics
There are more than 1,347,000 Prep Cooks working in the United States. This is similar to the number of Line Cooks, as per our Line Cook demographics page.
Prep Cook Gender Statistics
Out of all the Prep Cooks working in the U.S., 38.7% are women, but the majority (61.3%) are men. This is different from Pastry Chef demographics, where the majority of individuals are women.
Prep Cook Age Statistics
The majority of Prep Cooks (45%) are older than 40 years.
Individuals between the ages of 30 and 40 make up 22% of the Prep Cook workforce, while those between the ages of 20 and 30 make up 26% of the overall Prep Cook population.
The remaining 7% are individuals younger than 20.
Prep Cook Ethnicity and Race Statistics
Most of the Prep Cooks (57.9%) working in the United States are white. The second most common ethnicity for this position is Hispanic or Latino at 18.2%, followed by Black or African American individuals, who constitute 9.5% of all Prep Cooks.
See the full breakdown of Prep Cooks by race and ethnicity in the graph below.
Prep Cook Education Statistics
Most Prep Cooks (48%) have a high school diploma.
The second and third most common educational attainments for Prep Cooks are Associate (20%) and Diploma (14%).
While the role of a Prep Cook does not require extensive education, other kitchen roles, such as that of an Executive Chef, typically require more formal education as you can see on our Executive Chef demographics page.
Prep Cook Tenure Statistics
The Prep Cook role has a high turnover rate.
Most individuals (42%) working in this position stay with the same job for less than a year, followed by 32% of individuals who stay at the same job between one year and two years.
Just 2% of individuals working in this role stay at the same job for more than 8 years, with most either switching careers completely or moving on up to better-paying roles such as Sous Chef or Chef.
See the complete breakdown below:
Prep Cook Industry Statistics
Prep Cooks work across various industries and different types of establishments.
That said, the vast majority of them (66%) work in the hospitality sector, followed by retail (7%) and Fortune 500 companies (4%).
See the full breakdown of Prep Cook employment by industry below:
| Industry | Employment |
|---|---|
| Hospitality | 66% |
| Retail | 7% |
| Fortune 500 | 4% |
| Professional | 4% |
| Other | 19% |
Prep Cook Jobs by Company Size
Most Prep Cooks work in restaurant chains and other eating establishments. The data suggests that the majority of Prep Cooks (38%) work for employers who have between 1,000 and 10,000 employees.
Companies that have more than 10,000 employees are the second type of employer that employs the most Prep Cooks at 25%.
See the complete breakdown of the size of employers that hire Prep Cooks in the graph below.
Prep Cook Languages Spoken Statistics
Aside from English, some Prep Cooks speak additional languages.
The majority of them (71.4%) speak Spanish, followed by French (10.4%) and German (3.3%).
A small percentage of Prep Cooks also speak additional languages, such as Italian and Portuguese, as you can see in the table below.
Additional Prep Cook Statistics
- The average Prep Cook salary in the United States is $15.59 per hour
- 79% of Prep Cooks work in private companies
- The majority of prep cooks work in restaurants, with others employed in institutions like schools and hospitals
- Many prep cooks advance to Line Cook or Sous Chef positions within 2-3 years
- Prep Cooks often work more than 40 hours per week
- Just 1% of Prep Cooks work in nonprofit organizations
- Prep Cook employees who have a bachelor’s degree earn 4% more on average than those with only a high school diploma
- The average white Prep Cook employee is 36 years old, while the average Asian Prep Cook is 45 years old
Prep Cook Statistics FAQ
Prep Cooks working in Washington earn the highest annual salaries at $39,036 followed by those in California at $38,066.
Prep Cooks working in New York are a close third, with salaries of $37,595 per year.
You can learn more by reading our Prep Cook salary page.
New York and Philadelphia are two cities in the United States that employ the most Prep Cooks.
Austin, TX, is a city that has a high demand for Prep Cooks. Additionally, NYC has a high number of open positions for Prep Cooks.
If you’re looking to find a job as a Prep Cook in NYC, you can explore our Prep Cook NYC job listings.
There are more than 1,347,000 Prep Cooks working in the United States.
Roughly 38.7% of all Prep Cooks are women.
Most Prep Cooks are White (57.9%), followed by Hispanic or Latino Prep Cooks at 18.2%.
The average male Prep Cook is 33 years old, whereas the average female Prep Cook is 44 years old.
Prep Cook Statistics and Demographics Data
We use government agencies, sources and other websites to collect the data on Prep Cook demographics and statistics.
Explore how we do it on our demographics methodology page.
Written by Vukasin Petrovic
Vukasin is an experienced content creator with more than five years of writing and editing experience. With a background in English and an MFA in Creative Writing, he excels in digital marketing and copywriting, crafting narratives that engage the audience.
Reviewed by Stefan Petrov
With over 10 years of experience as a writer and editor, Stefan has worked in the automotive, IT, health and hospitality industries. Familiar with Google Search Console and other SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush, Stefan uses his experience to create content that’s visually appealing to the user but also ranks in the SERPs.
