Cooks, fast food job market in Ohio
Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.
The headline
Ohio industry employment tracked close to the U.S. benchmark
A data-driven view of the industries that employ Cooks, fast food in Ohio.
Occupation pay
What Cooks, fast food earn in Ohio
BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.
Median annual wage
$26,870Ohio- Middle 50% of published wages
- $23,070 – $29,710
- U.S. median annual wage
- $30,890
- Reference period
- May 2025
The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.
Pay around Ohio
How median pay varies by metro area
Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Cooks, fast food, compared with the Ohio median of $26,870.
Cleveland, OH$29,120+8.4% vs. state
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN$28,930+7.7% vs. state
Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH$26,950+0.3% vs. state
Mansfield, OH$26,360−1.9% vs. state
Canton-Massillon, OH$26,300−2.1% vs. state
Akron, OH$26,270−2.2% vs. state
View 7 more published metro areas
Lima, OH$26,210−2.5% vs. state
Springfield, OH$25,980−3.3% vs. state
Columbus, OH$25,290−5.9% vs. state
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH$23,710−11.8% vs. state
Wheeling, WV-OH$23,110−14.0% vs. state
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH$22,610−15.9% vs. state
Toledo, OH$22,560−16.0% vs. state
Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the Ohio median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.
Verified snapshot
Market at a Glance
Key changes in Ohio’s weighted industry mix.
Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Published coverage: 31,744 represented establishments, 97.17% of the published industry mix.
Local research
What the data shows for cooks, fast food in Ohio
Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.
This occupation is less concentrated in the state
OEWS May 2025 places Ohio's share of employment in cooks, fast food at 0.54 times the corresponding national share. The published location quotient expresses that comparison. The state estimate is 12,310 jobs, 1.9% of the national employment estimate for this occupation. It represents 2.22 jobs per thousand jobs in the state's OEWS employment universe. Employment concentration does not establish future growth; it describes employment share, not current hiring.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSOEWS employment estimates describe covered wage-and-salary jobs and exclude self-employed workers; location quotients do not measure vacancies or worker demand.
Leisure and hospitality has the largest positive weighted contribution
The leading industry groups examined cover 99.9% of this occupation's national industry mix. Within that comparison for Ohio in January to March 2026, Leisure and hospitality accounts for 99.9% of the positive weighted contributions, with its own employment changing +0.6% year over year. These contributions weight industry growth by the national industry mix and do not count occupation jobs created.
January to March 2026 · BLS QCEWPublished median pay is below the U.S. median
A 13.0% difference separates Ohio's median annual wage for cooks, fast food from the U.S. median in OEWS May 2025. At $26,870, the state median is below the national figure of $30,890. The estimates describe the middle of each wage distribution, without a living-cost adjustment.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSPay differs widely between metro areas
Looking across 10 metro areas with published estimates on the same basis reveals a substantial pay range associated with Ohio. In OEWS May 2025, Cleveland, OH's median of $29,120 is 29.1% higher than Toledo, OH's median of $22,560. This comparison covers nominal wages, without assessing living costs or job availability.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSMetro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.
Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology
Employment trends
Ohio industry employment over time
Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.
- Ohio · 2026 Q1+0.6%
- U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark+0.6%
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View every published value
| Quarter | Ohio | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q2 | +1.1% | 100% |
| 2024 Q3 | +0.1% | 100% |
| 2024 Q4 | +0.6% | 100% |
| 2025 Q1 | -0.4% | 100% |
| 2025 Q2 | -0.2% | 100% |
| 2025 Q3 | +0.2% | 100% |
| 2025 Q4 | +0.4% | 100% |
| 2026 Q1 | +0.6% | 100% |
How to read this chart
State trend and national reference
The solid line follows Ohio’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.
- Published quarters
- 8
- Earliest quarter
- 2024 Q2
- Latest quarter
- 2026 Q1
- U.S. benchmark
- +0.6%
Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.
Industry context
Where Cooks, fast food Work
The occupation mix determines which Ohio industries are weighted into this view.
| Industry group | Occupation mix | Employment change | Establishments | Avg. weekly industry wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure and hospitality | 97.1% | +0.6% | 31,744 | $518 |
| Trade, transportation, and utilities | 2.4% | -0.5% | 70,284 | $1,214 |
| Manufacturing | 0.1% | -1.2% | 16,585 | $1,652 |
| Professional and business services | 0.1% | -0.7% | 71,953 | $1,946 |
| State and local | 0.1% | +0.2% | 12,502 | $1,301 |
| Private education and health services | 0.1% | +1.3% | 43,102 | $1,216 |
Which industries are growing?
3 weighted industries are growing
Only weighted industries with a published positive Ohio employment change are listed.
- Private education and health services+1.3%
- Leisure and hospitality+0.6%
- State and local+0.2%
The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.
Current Ohio context
Current Ohio Market Signals
Statewide indicators for all occupations in Ohio. They are not Cooks, fast food demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.
Statewide job postings
Indeed job postings · Ohio
Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score
Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View values: Indeed postings index
| Observation date | Index (Feb 2020 = 100) |
|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2026 | 106.54 |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 106.33 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 105.95 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 106.02 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 105.82 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 105.55 |
| Sep 4, 2026 | 106.33 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 107.46 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 107.82 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 108.16 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 108.23 |
| Oct 9, 2026 | 108.82 |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 108.45 |
| Oct 23, 2026 | 108.71 |
This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.
Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.
Statewide layoff notices
Statewide layoff-notice filings
Ohio statewide15 notices in this source
Notice dates from Aug 5, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.
What this means: These are statewide totals from notices dated in this period in Ohio’s official tracking system. Reported positions are the counts published in those notices, not a count of people confirmed to have lost their jobs. No employer is identified.
Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. Ohio’s state tracking system also records smaller Rapid Response events that fall below federal WARN thresholds, so it is not a list of federal WARN filings only.
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services About WARN data
Source last checked
Career context
Related occupations
Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.
Questions answered by this release
Cooks, fast food in Ohio FAQs
Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.
Is employment growing for Cooks, fast food in Ohio?
The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the Ohio industries weighted to Cooks, fast food changed +0.6% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with +0.6% nationwide.
Are wages for Cooks, fast food rising in Ohio?
QCEW does not publish pay for Cooks, fast food in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +2.3% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.
How complete is this Ohio industry view?
The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.
Does this page show current Cooks, fast food openings?
No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.
Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record
Methodology & Sources
Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.
- Occupation
- Cooks, fast food
- SOC code
- 35-2011
- State
- Ohio
- QCEW release label
- QCEW 2026 Q1
- Data period
- 2026 Q1
- State industry employment, year over year
- +0.6%State data coverage 100%
- U.S. benchmark, year over year
- +0.6%
- Difference from U.S. benchmark
- -0.1 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
- Establishments, year over year
- -0.1%State data coverage 100%
- Average weekly industry wage, year over year
- +2.3%State data coverage 100%
- Industry mix vintage
- EP-2025-2035
- BLS publication date
- Aug 28, 2026
- Source verification
- Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
- Canonical record URL
- https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/cooks-fast-food/ohio#evidence-record
- Derived by
- JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix
MethodologyBLS QCEWHow to citeQCEW state context release, 2026 Q1
Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.