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Cooks, Short Order pay in Arizona and Ohio
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cooks, Short Order is $46,630 per year in Arizona. It is $29,290 per year in Ohio. Arizona is 59.2% above Ohio on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 35-2015 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 1,880 wage and salary jobs in Arizona and 6,000 in Ohio. 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
