Start with the answer
Cooks, Fast Food pay in Florida and Hawaii
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cooks, Fast Food is $29,900 per year in Florida. It is $48,120 per year in Hawaii. Florida is 37.9% 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 22,600 wage and salary jobs in Florida 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
