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Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria pay in Washington and Wyoming
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria is $49,670 per year in Washington. It is $36,940 per year in Wyoming. Washington is 34.5% above Wyoming on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 35-2012 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 9,780 wage and salary jobs in Washington and 1,570 in Wyoming. 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
