Cooks, Restaurant pay in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood
$35,550avg. a year
$17.09 an hour · 9,180 employed
Cooks, Restaurant in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area earn an average of $35,550 a year. That is $1,400 (4%) more than the Indiana average of $34,150. The U.S. average is $38,730.
$36,610Median pay
$17.09Average hourly
+4%vs. Indiana average
9,180Jobs in this metro
Other Indiana metro areas
Average pay for cooks, restaurant in other Indiana metro areas. Swipe to see all 14.
141,690 jobs
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$40,450
$19.45 an hour
25,390 jobs
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
$35,360
$17.00 an hour
310,810 jobs
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
$35,010
$16.83 an hour
4370 jobs
Kokomo, IN
$34,190
$16.44 an hour
5640 jobs
Elkhart-Goshen, IN
$34,010
$16.35 an hour
61,300 jobs
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
$33,740
$16.22 an hour
7930 jobs
Bloomington, IN
$33,660
$16.18 an hour
8930 jobs
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
$33,300
$16.01 an hour
91,330 jobs
Evansville, IN
$33,210
$15.97 an hour
102,030 jobs
Fort Wayne, IN
$33,180
$15.95 an hour
11490 jobs
Michigan City-La Porte, IN
$32,800
$15.77 an hour
12360 jobs
Columbus, IN
$32,610
$15.68 an hour
13460 jobs
Muncie, IN
$31,620
$15.20 an hour
14600 jobs
Terre Haute, IN
$31,560
$15.17 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 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroIndianaU.S.
Indiana metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Food Preparation Workers | $32,660 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $29,780 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $32,300 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $47,300 |
| Bartenders | $29,510 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $31,760 |
Questions and answers
How much do cooks, restaurant make in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
The average is $35,550 a year, and the median is $36,610. About 9,180 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the Indiana average?
That is $1,400 (4%) more than the Indiana average of $34,150.
Is this job common in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
It makes up 8.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 0.92 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: Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 26900). 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.