PublicPay

Cooking federal salary series 7404

Full-time federal employees in the Cooking series earned a median of $73,421 in annualized adjusted basic pay in September 2026, 33% below the all-federal median of $109,641. The middle half earned between $56,412 and $89,783.

Median pay
$73,421
full-time, September 2026
Middle 50%
$56,412–$89,783
25th–75th percentile
Employees
3,862
in this series, all schedules
Change in median
+5%
vs. September 2025
Pay distribution, full-time employees with published pay, September 2026
Cooking
All federal (full-time)

What shapes cooking pay

The most common grade with published pay is WS-8 (1,349 employees, median $90,743). The largest employer of this series with published pay is the Department of Veterans Affairs (1,754 employees). Among states with at least 30 full-time employees with published pay, the median is highest in Louisiana ($106,166) and lowest in Tennessee ($55,389), a gap that partly reflects locality pay differences. Federal pay depends mostly on grade and step, plus a locality adjustment for where the job is located; see the GS pay scale explainer.

OPM withheld pay for 13% of employees in this series. The figures here describe only employees with published pay; withholding is concentrated in certain agencies (see data coverage).

Cooking pay by grade

Grades with at least 30 full-time employees with published pay. GS grades are listed first; other pay plans follow.

Cooking pay by grade
Pay plan–grade Employees Median pay Middle 50%
NA-4 178 $45,455 $43,676–$48,606
NA-5 43 $50,693 $47,177–$50,693
WG-4 383 $49,858 $46,999–$54,596
WG-6 1,028 $58,666 $54,512–$63,320
WG-8 276 $68,339 $62,093–$74,172
WS-6 217 $79,254 $74,646–$86,636
WS-8 1,349 $90,743 $85,129–$99,279

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Cooking pay by agency

Cooking pay by agency
Agency Employees Median pay Middle 50%
Department of Veterans Affairs 1,754 $58,144 $50,985–$67,514
Department of Justice 1,243 $90,910 $85,129–$99,279
Department of Health and Human Services 108 $65,636 $60,481–$75,226
Department of Agriculture 73 $64,071 $56,641–$75,445

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Cooking pay by state

The 10 states with the most employees in this series and published pay.

Cooking pay by state
State Employees Median pay Middle 50%
California 257 $74,652 $58,144–$94,520
Texas 247 $77,052 $51,674–$92,725
Florida 231 $58,624 $48,961–$85,776
Pennsylvania 183 $82,364 $59,626–$91,202
Arizona 151 $77,762 $60,794–$94,854
New York 144 $69,539 $61,441–$90,221
West Virginia 129 $81,372 $60,481–$90,221
Illinois 116 $72,878 $54,575–$94,082
North Carolina 95 $60,940 $50,005–$85,191
Kentucky 91 $83,376 $58,478–$89,783

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Compare cooking pay across all states and agencies →

Change since September 2025

The median moved +5.0% from $69,925 in September 2025 to $73,421 in September 2026. Headcount went from 3,920 to 3,862 (−1.5%). A change in the median reflects both pay adjustments and who joined or left the workforce, so it is not the same as a pay raise.

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