Start with the answer
Cooks, Restaurant pay in Kahului-Wailuku, HI and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cooks, Restaurant is $49,560 per year in Kahului-Wailuku, HI. It is $44,460 per year in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. Kahului-Wailuku, HI is 11.5% above Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 35-2014 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 1,770 wage and salary jobs in Kahului-Wailuku, HI and 54,320 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. 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