Start with the answer
Cooks, Fast Food pay in Connecticut and Hawaii
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cooks, Fast Food is $34,980 per year in Connecticut. It is $48,120 per year in Hawaii. Connecticut is 27.3% below Hawaii on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 35-2011 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 3,630 wage and salary jobs in Connecticut and Not published in Hawaii. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
