Prevailing Wage for Cooks, Fast Food
Prevailing wage for Cooks, Fast Food is set by DOL under SOC 35-2011.00 and applies to any employer seeking H-1B visa, H-1B1 visa, E-3 visa, H-2B visa, or PERM sponsorship for a Cook, Fry Cook, or Grill Cook position. DOL defines four experience levels, and the wage floor shifts meaningfully from city to city, so location is as important as experience level.
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Entry-level fast food cooks with no prior U.S. experience in the occupation and limited independent judgment. Typically performing routine tasks under close supervision with basic familiarity of single-purpose cooking equipment and a limited menu.
Qualified cooks who work with moderate supervision and have some experience with the employer's specific prep procedures. Level 2 is the most common filing level for Cooks, Fast Food, reflecting the role's structured but practiced day-to-day scope.
Experienced cooks who handle more complex preparation tasks with minimal supervision, often training newer staff or covering multiple stations. These workers bring demonstrated consistency and can adapt across a range of fast food cooking methods.
Fully competent cooks performing the full range of duties independently, often in a lead or senior capacity. May oversee kitchen workflow, ensure food-safety compliance, and mentor entry-level staff across a fast food operation.
Prevailing wage for Cooks, Fast Food by OES area
Each area on the map is a DOL OES wage zone. Click any location to see the prevailing wage floor for Cooks, Fast Food at each level.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Cooks, Fast Food and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Watch how fast food employers title the role
Job postings may say Fry Cook, Grill Cook, or simply Cook rather than the DOL title. If the employer files the LCA under a different SOC, the prevailing wage floor can shift. Confirm the posted title maps to SOC 35-2011.00 before comparing your offer.
Compare your offer against the worksite city floor
Fast food wages vary sharply by market. The prevailing wage in San Francisco or Seattle can run nearly double the floor in Shreveport or Puerto Rico metros. Your offer must clear the DOL floor for the specific city where you will actually work, not a national average.
Expect most sponsored positions to file at Level 2
Employers filing LCAs for experienced fast food cooks most often use Level 2. If your offer is below the L2 floor for your worksite city, ask whether the employer intends to file at L1 and confirm that classification matches your actual duties and tenure.
Find employers who have sponsored Cooks before
Migrate Mate filters Cooks, Fast Food listings by visa type and shows which employers have an actual H-1B or green card sponsorship history for this occupation, so you can focus on companies that have already navigated the LCA process for this role.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Cooks, Fast Food?
DOL calculates the prevailing wage for Cooks, Fast Food using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics across hundreds of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. OFLC then assigns four wage levels to SOC 35-2011.00 based on experience and supervision requirements. Employers must certify on the Labor Condition Application that they will pay at least the applicable prevailing wage for the worksite location.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I know which one applies to my offer?
The four levels reflect experience and independence: Level 1 is entry with close supervision, Level 2 is qualified with moderate oversight, Level 3 is experienced with limited supervision, and Level 4 is fully competent and often lead-level. To identify your level, compare your actual duties, years of relevant experience, and the degree of supervision your role requires against DOL's level definitions for this occupation.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same fast food cook role differ so much by city?
OFLC derives wages from regional labor market surveys, so areas with higher costs of living and denser food-service markets produce higher wage floors. Under the LCA rules, the prevailing wage must match the area where the employee will actually perform work, not the employer's headquarters. A cook sponsored for a San Francisco location therefore faces a materially higher floor than one sponsored in a lower-cost metro.
What happens if my job offer is below the prevailing wage for a sponsored position?
An employer cannot certify an LCA if the offered wage falls below the DOL prevailing wage for the worksite area and experience level. USCIS will not approve an H-1B or employment-based green card petition lacking a certified LCA. The employer must either increase the offered wage to meet the floor or file the LCA at a lower experience level that the role genuinely supports before any visa petition can proceed.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for Cooks, Fast Food in a specific U.S. location?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 35-2011.00 by metropolitan area and select the experience level that matches your role. This returns the current DOL prevailing wage for that worksite. For visa-sponsored job listings filtered by location and employer sponsorship history for this occupation, Migrate Mate lets you search by role and see which companies have previously sponsored Cooks, Fast Food positions.
