How Much Does Cook Out Pay? Wages by Role and State (2026)

How Much Does Cook Out Pay?

Most Cook Out crew members (cashiers, cooks and grill cooks) report earning roughly $11 to $14 an hour as of October 2026, and salaried managers report averages from about $48,000 for managers in training to about $86,000 for general managers. Cook Out does not publish a company-wide pay scale, so these figures come from employee-reported salary data on Indeed and Glassdoor and from employer-provided pay in Cook Out job listings.

The single most useful number depends on the job and the state. On Indeed’s Cook Out Restaurants salary page (updated October 11, 2026), cashiers report an average of $13.16 an hour across 317 reports, cooks $13.23 across 492 reports and grill cooks $12.24 across 1,365 reports. Glassdoor puts Cook Out cashier pay at $11 to $14 an hour with a $13 median, based on 215 submitted salaries as of October 2026. Two Cook Out crew listings from 2025 that we checked on Glassdoor (Macon, Georgia and Havelock, North Carolina) advertised $12 to $13 an hour as employer-provided pay.

State law sets the floor. Of Cook Out’s 370 open restaurants in October 2026, 318 are in states that follow the $7.25 federal minimum (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi). The other 52 are in Virginia ($12.77 in 2026), Florida ($15.00 since September 30, 2026), West Virginia ($8.75) and Maryland ($15.00), where no worker can legally be paid below those rates.

• Crew (cashier, cook, grill): about $11–$14/hr reported, as of Oct 2026.
• Hourly shift or restaurant managers: Indeed average $17.97/hr (small sample).
• Salaried managers: Indeed averages from $48,152 (manager in training) to $85,818 (general manager).
• Maintenance and HVAC technicians: $25–$35/hr in current ZipRecruiter listings.

This page is about pay. If you want the full picture of open roles, the application process and interview tips, read our Cook Out careers and jobs guide.

How Much Does Cook Out Pay for Each Job?

Hourly crew roles at Cook Out report averages of about $12 to $13 an hour, hourly managers about $18, and salaried store leadership roughly $48,000 to $86,000 a year, according to Indeed data updated October 11, 2026. The table lists every figure with its source and date so you can judge it yourself.

A few things stand out. Grill cook is the most-reported Cook Out job on Indeed by a wide margin (1,365 reports), and its average ($12.24) is slightly lower than cashier and cook. That is not necessarily because the grill pays less; the three titles overlap heavily in practice, because Cook Out listings often combine them into one “Crew Member/Cashier/Cook” opening, and each average is shaped by when and where people reported it.

Store-level management is where pay jumps. Indeed’s assistant general manager average ($66,142 from 553 reports) is the most reliable management figure because of its sample size. General manager ($85,818) and store manager ($83,795) are likely overlapping titles for the person who runs a restaurant. Titles with fewer than about 30 reports are shown for completeness, but treat them as rough indications only.

Cook Out also employs skilled trades to keep hundreds of drive-thrus running. Indeed’s facilities maintenance technician average is $28.85 an hour, and ZipRecruiter showed Cook Out listings for restaurant maintenance technicians (HVACR) at $25 to $35 an hour in Newport News, Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Mobile and Auburn in October 2026, with one Newport News listing advertising sign-on bonuses of $500 and $1,000 after a required employment period.

What Is Cook Out’s Starting Pay for Cashiers and Crew?

Cook Out does not publish one starting wage, but recent crew listings and employee reports cluster around $11 to $13 an hour in federal-minimum states, with higher legal floors in Virginia, Florida, Maryland and West Virginia. Expect the exact offer to depend on the store, the shift and your experience.

The two employer-provided crew listings we found give the clearest view of what Cook Out actually advertises. The Macon, Georgia “Crew Member/Cashier” posting from August 20, 2025 listed $12.00 to $13.00 an hour. The Havelock, North Carolina “Crew Member/Cashier/Cook” posting from September 9, 2025 showed $12.00 to $13.00 in one place and $11.00 to $12.00 in another, so the realistic reading is $11 to $13. Both postings have since expired, which is normal for fast-food listings that turn over quickly.

Self-reported numbers line up with those listings. Glassdoor’s cashier range of $11 to $14 an hour (median $13, October 2026) and Indeed’s cashier average of $13.16 suggest most new crew members start near the low-to-middle part of that band and move up with raises, extra responsibilities or a move into a shift-leader role.

What does that add up to per week and per year?

Crew schedules vary a lot, so here is simple math on gross pay before taxes. These are illustrations, not quotes.

Overtime matters if you pick up extra shifts. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt hourly employees must be paid time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek. In Indeed’s Cook Out survey, 65% of respondents said they receive overtime pay; the rest may simply not work over 40 hours.

Because many Cook Out restaurants stay open until about 3 AM Sunday through Thursday and 4 AM on Friday and Saturday (hours vary by store; see our Cook Out hours guide), there are a lot of late shifts available. Whether a store pays anything extra for closing shifts is not documented in any source we found, so ask the hiring manager directly.

Does Cook Out Pay More in Some States?

Yes, at least at the bottom of the scale: Cook Out restaurants in Virginia, Florida, Maryland and West Virginia must pay at least their state minimum wage, which ranges from $8.75 to $15.00 an hour, while the other seven Cook Out states use the $7.25 federal minimum. Actual Cook Out offers in every state we checked were well above $7.25.

The table below covers all 11 states where Cook Out had open restaurants in October 2026, with open-store counts from Cook Out’s store locator. Minimum wage figures come from the U.S. Department of Labor’s state minimum wage table (updated July 1, 2026), the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, and Florida’s scheduled September 30, 2026 increase.

Add it up and 318 of Cook Out’s 370 open stores, about 86%, are in the seven $7.25 states. That matters when you read national salary averages: most of the people reporting pay on Indeed and Glassdoor work in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, so the $12 to $13 averages mostly describe those markets.

In Virginia, the state minimum alone is $12.77 for 2026, so a Cook Out crew job in Richmond, Roanoke, Harrisonburg or Hampton Roads cannot pay less than that. In Florida, where Cook Out’s five open stores are in Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Tampa and Temple Terrace, the floor is now $15.00, the same as at the single Maryland store in Salisbury. Browse the stores in each state on our North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee guides, or use the Cook Out locations finder.

A minimum wage is only a floor. Local labor markets push pay up too: a store next to a big university or in a fast-growing metro competes for workers with every other drive-thru on the same road, and that often shows up as a higher starting offer than in a small town. No public source breaks Cook Out pay down by city, so the only way to know a specific store’s rate is to ask.

How Much Do Cook Out Managers Make?

Cook Out managers report average salaries of about $48,000 in training, about $66,000 as assistant general managers and about $84,000 to $86,000 as store or general managers, according to Indeed data updated October 11, 2026. Hourly managers report about $18 an hour.

Cook Out does not post a management pay scale publicly, so self-reported averages are the best available guide. The management ladder in Indeed’s data looks like this:

For context, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a May 2024 national median of $20.20 an hour for first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, the federal category that covers shift leaders and many hourly restaurant managers. Indeed’s $17.97 Cook Out hourly-manager average sits below that national figure, which is consistent with most Cook Out stores being in lower-wage Southern markets, though the Cook Out sample is small.

The salaried figures are averages, not guaranteed pay, and they may include bonuses that some respondents count and others do not. Cook Out has not published how its management bonuses work, and we could not verify any bonus structure, so ask about base salary, bonus eligibility and expected weekly hours separately during an interview. One Indeed answer from a manager in training in King, North Carolina (March 2022) mentioned a seven-week training program, a sign-on bonus and a paid week of vacation after training; that is one person’s experience and may not apply today.

If management is your goal, our Cook Out careers guide covers the roles and how to apply.

Does Cook Out Pay Weekly or Biweekly?

Most Cook Out employees who answered the question on Indeed say crew members are paid weekly, and several say payday is Monday, but Cook Out has not published an official pay schedule, so confirm with your store. Some answers say managers are paid every other week.

Here is what the employee answers on Indeed actually say:

• Weekly for crew: on Indeed’s question “How does Cookout employees get paid once a week or biweekly,” 9 of the 10 visible answers (posted 2016–2019 by former cashiers, cooks and crew leaders in places such as Charlotte, Laurinburg, Sumter and Kingsport) say employees are paid weekly.
• Monday paydays: answers from 2016 and 2019 say employees are paid on Monday, one specifying “after 2pm.”
• Managers every other week: a former general manager in Newport News, Virginia wrote in December 2016 that employees are paid every Monday and managers every other Monday.
• Mixed recent answers: on a second Indeed question asked in January 2025, one former North Carolina manager said pay is weekly, another former general manager in Wake County said every two weeks, and a third mentioned paper checks.

Because these answers are years apart and come from different stores and roles, they are not proof of current policy. The safe reading is that weekly pay for hourly crew has been widely reported, but your schedule, payday and payment method (check, direct deposit or pay card) are details to confirm when you get an offer.

Do you get paid for training?

Three Indeed answers (2022–2023, from Tucker, Georgia; Montgomery, Alabama; and King, North Carolina) all say yes. That is consistent with federal law: under the Fair Labor Standards Act, required training for an hourly job generally counts as hours worked.

What Age Does Cook Out Hire?

Cook Out does not publish a single company-wide minimum hiring age, so the answer varies by store; ask the restaurant you want to work at. Federal law sets 14 as the general minimum age for non-farm jobs and limits the hours and tasks of 14- and 15-year-olds, and Cook Out’s late-night hours make those limits especially relevant.

Some websites state that Cook Out hires at 16, but we could not find that in any Cook Out job listing or company source, so we do not treat it as fact. What we can say with confidence is how the federal rules (U.S. Department of Labor child labor rules for non-agricultural work) shape a teenager’s options at any fast-food restaurant:

• Under 14: generally cannot be employed in restaurant jobs.
• Ages 14 and 15: may work outside school hours, up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, or 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week when school is out, and only between 7 AM and 7 PM (9 PM from June 1 through Labor Day). Some kitchen equipment and cooking tasks are off-limits.
• Ages 16 and 17: no federal hour limits, but they cannot operate equipment the Department of Labor classifies as hazardous.
• 18 and older: no federal age restrictions.

With most Cook Out stores open until 3 or 4 AM, a 14- or 15-year-old could not legally work the evening and late-night shifts that make up a large share of a Cook Out schedule. That is one practical reason many stores may prefer applicants who are at least 16, but it is a store-level decision, and your state may add its own rules such as work permits. The quickest way to get a real answer is to ask the manager at your nearest store, which you can find on our locations finder.

What Benefits Come With a Cook Out Job?

Some Cook Out job listings advertise 401(k) with matching, health and vision insurance, paid time off, paid training, flexible scheduling and an employee discount, but benefits are listed differently from posting to posting, so confirm them for your role and store. Cook Out has not published a company-wide benefits summary that we could verify.

Listings tell you what a job offers, not who qualifies. Health insurance and 401(k) plans usually come with eligibility rules such as minimum hours or a waiting period, and part-time crew members may not qualify for everything a full-time manager gets. Employee survey answers on Indeed are mixed on paid vacation and personal days, which suggests paid time off may depend on role, tenure or hours.

Free or discounted meals on shift are a common question. The Havelock listing mentioned an employee discount; beyond that, food policies are store-level details we could not verify, so ask during the interview.

Is Cook Out Pay Good Compared With Other Fast-Food Jobs?

Reported Cook Out crew pay of about $12 to $13 an hour is a little below the national fast-food median of $14.65 an hour (BLS, May 2024), which mostly reflects where Cook Out operates rather than an unusually low rate. National medians include high-wage states such as California and Washington, where Cook Out has no stores.

Two cautions apply to this comparison. First, the BLS figures are from May 2024, while the Cook Out figures are as of October 2026, so they are not measured at the same time. Second, BLS figures are national; there were about 3.78 million fast food and counter workers in the U.S. in May 2024, and the ones in the Southeast typically earn less than the national median because most Southern states use the $7.25 federal minimum.

Pay is not the only factor. Cook Out’s long operating hours mean plenty of shifts, including late nights that suit college students, and the company’s large store count in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee means there is often a store close to home. Weigh hourly pay against hours offered, commute, schedule flexibility and benefits eligibility. If you are also comparing the food, our Cook Out vs. McDonald’s comparison covers the menu side.

How Should You Read Cook Out Pay Data?

Treat every Cook Out pay number online as an estimate: salary sites rely on self-reported data that varies by state, store, role, date and sample size, and Cook Out does not publish a company-wide pay scale. Use the figures to set expectations, then confirm the real number with the store.

We also leave out figures we could not tie to a dated, named source. For example, one major pay-data site had a Cook Out profile built on only eight responses last updated in 2022, and one Glassdoor city page showed two conflicting ranges for the same role; neither is used on this page. When sources disagree, we show the range and say so.

The most reliable number is always the one on your offer. When you apply, it is reasonable to ask the hiring manager for the starting hourly rate, when the first raise review happens, whether nights or weekends pay differently, how often payday comes, and which benefits you would be eligible for at your expected hours.

Where Can You Learn More About Working at Cook Out?

Start with our Cook Out careers guide for open roles and how to apply, then use the locations finder to pick the store you want to work at. The guides below cover the rest of what job seekers and customers ask about Cook Out.

• Cook Out careers and jobs: roles, application steps and interview tips.
• Cook Out locations finder: find the store nearest you to ask about pay and openings.
• All Cook Out locations: every state Cook Out operates in.
• Cook Out hours: opening and closing times, which shape shift schedules.
• Cook Out FAQ: quick answers about the company and menu.
• Cook Out tray menu: what you will be ringing up most often as a cashier.

Cook Out was founded in 1989 in Greensboro, North Carolina, is headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina, and had 370 open restaurants across 11 states on its store locator in October 2026.

Cook Out Pay FAQs

Answers to the questions people ask most.