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Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria: apprenticeship hours and pay
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Approved apprenticeship titles
One apprenticeship title on the Department of Labor's approved list fall under Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, trained competency-based, hybrid, time-based. The shortest approved term is 4,000 hours, for COOK (Any Ind) (Alternate Title: Nutrition Care Specialist) (competency-based).
| Title | RAPIDS code | Approach and term |
|---|---|---|
| COOK (Any Ind) (Alternate Title: Nutrition Care Specialist) | 0090 | Competency-Based: 4,000 hours Hybrid: 4,000 to 5,000 hours Time-Based: 4,000 hours |
Time-based programs count hours on the job; competency-based programs move on when the apprentice shows the skills; hybrid programs use both, within a range of hours (29 CFR 29.5(b)(2)). Each registered program sets its own term inside what the approved title allows.
What cooks, institution and cafeteria earn, by state
Washington has the highest state median for cooks, institution and cafeteria ($49,670) and Louisiana the lowest ($25,490), across the 54 states with a published figure.
| State | Median pay | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $49,670 | $23.88 | 9,780 |
| Alaska | $48,580 | $23.36 | 1,430 |
| Massachusetts | $47,790 | $22.98 | 7,430 |
| Hawaii | $47,770 | $22.97 | 1,570 |
| Rhode Island | $46,570 | $22.39 | 1,190 |
| California | $46,390 | $22.31 | 31,660 |
| Vermont | $46,370 | $22.29 | 1,330 |
| Connecticut | $46,120 | $22.17 | 4,500 |
| New York | $45,880 | $22.06 | 17,670 |
| District of Columbia | $45,450 | $21.85 | 1,500 |
| New Hampshire | $45,370 | $21.81 | 1,720 |
| New Jersey | $44,520 | $21.40 | 7,490 |
| Oregon | $44,520 | $21.40 | 7,150 |
| Delaware | $44,080 | $21.19 | 2,680 |
| Maine | $43,490 | $20.91 | 1,790 |
| Minnesota | $43,460 | $20.90 | 7,890 |
| Colorado | $42,500 | $20.43 | 9,440 |
| Maryland | $41,380 | $19.89 | 3,370 |
| Arizona | $39,660 | $19.07 | 7,170 |
| North Dakota | $39,490 | $18.99 | 1,820 |
| Nevada | $39,430 | $18.96 | 1,650 |
| Wisconsin | $38,650 | $18.58 | 9,890 |
| Utah | $38,200 | $18.36 | 5,610 |
| Virginia | $37,890 | $18.22 | 11,170 |
| Illinois | $37,440 | $18.00 | 22,840 |
| Montana | $37,150 | $17.86 | 2,290 |
| Wyoming | $36,940 | $17.76 | 1,570 |
| Michigan | $36,870 | $17.72 | 13,500 |
| South Dakota | $36,730 | $17.66 | 2,120 |
| Ohio | $36,720 | $17.65 | 23,440 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,540 | $17.57 | 24,490 |
| New Mexico | $36,470 | $17.54 | 3,160 |
| Nebraska | $36,390 | $17.50 | 4,410 |
| Florida | $36,250 | $17.43 | 25,100 |
| North Carolina | $36,140 | $17.38 | 11,170 |
| Indiana | $35,980 | $17.30 | 11,130 |
| Iowa | $35,810 | $17.22 | 8,860 |
| Idaho | $35,600 | $17.11 | 3,650 |
| Tennessee | $35,570 | $17.10 | 10,680 |
| Guam | $35,540 | $17.09 | 100 |
| Texas | $35,360 | $17.00 | 24,740 |
| Georgia | $35,090 | $16.87 | 8,220 |
| South Carolina | $34,960 | $16.81 | 7,850 |
| Missouri | $34,900 | $16.78 | 13,130 |
| Kansas | $31,950 | $15.36 | 7,570 |
| Kentucky | $31,550 | $15.17 | 11,540 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $30,440 | $14.64 | 110 |
| Arkansas | $30,240 | $14.54 | 6,530 |
| West Virginia | $29,740 | $14.30 | 4,420 |
| Oklahoma | $29,270 | $14.07 | 10,790 |
| Mississippi | $27,390 | $13.17 | 6,420 |
| Alabama | $27,120 | $13.04 | 8,780 |
| Puerto Rico | $26,260 | $12.62 | 7,000 |
| Louisiana | $25,490 | $12.26 | 5,740 |
Finding a program
The public sponsor file names the organizations that run registered apprenticeships but not the occupations each one trains, so this guide names no sponsor. Search apprenticeship.gov's Apprenticeship Finder for this title, or ask your American Job Center which local programs train it.
Apprenticeship sponsors by state (25,633) · All approved occupations
Sources: apprenticeship.gov approved occupations list (Last-Modified October 8, 2026); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (all industries; blanks are figures BLS does not publish).