Cook anchors Hospitality's hiring this quarter (929,425 national listings, more than any other role in the vertical) and also carries its widest pay band (1.91× P75/P25). Housekeeper and Dishwasher, by contrast, are the vertical's most converged, tightly-priced roles.
929,425 — Cook listings nationally this quarter, more than any other Hospitality role, and Cook is also the widest band in the vertical (1.91×). Housekeeper and Dishwasher sit at the opposite end, both converged to roughly 1.35×.
1. Cook: the anchor and the widest band. $16,972–$32,426 ($8.16–$15.59/hr), 929,425 listings, 131,747 hiring companies.
2. Housekeeper and Dishwasher: the vertical's most converged roles. Housekeeper $25,007–$33,800 (1.35×); Dishwasher $24,960–$33,800 (1.35×).
3. Demand concentrates at the top of the metro map. LA and New York post 15,335 combined Cook listings — 2.6× the #3 metro, Dallas. Cook's metro median ranges from $31,200 (Dallas) to $41,600 (LA), a 33.3% spread.
4. Host: the widest band among front-of-house roles. $18,634–$34,320 (1.84×), wider than Bartender (1.59×) or Barista (1.49×).
Cook $11.46/hr vs. $17.98/hr (−36.3%); Housekeeper $14.10/hr vs. $17.07/hr (−17.4%); Host $13.31/hr vs. $15.00/hr (−11.3%); Bartender $15.05/hr vs. $16.51/hr (−8.8%); Barista $14.20/hr vs. $15.00/hr (−5.3%); Dishwasher $13.98/hr vs. $16.74/hr (−16.5%). All 6 roles print below their BLS benchmark.
WageScape/MarketTrak, advertised postings, national, Apr 1–Jun 30, 2026. 2,287,522 combined listings across 6 roles. Every role is a P25/P50/P75 band. All 6 roles quoted per hour. Cook's national P10 sits just under the federal wage floor, plausibly reflecting tipped-credit postings — a per-state floor check is pending before any metro-level cut ships. Aggregates only.
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Source: WageScape/MarketTrak, mt_1q, national (region_state='ALL'), Apr 1–Jun 30, 2026, single quarter. Sample: 2,287,522 combined listings across 6 roles (smallest: Dishwasher, n=130,626). Every role is a P25/P50/P75 band, never a lone median. All 6 roles quoted per hour (hourly-native), annual ÷ 2080 shown alongside. Wage-floor note: Cook's national P10 ($7.14/hr) sits just under the $7.25 federal floor — plausible given tipped-credit postings mixed into the national sample, not treated as a headline stat here. A per-state minimum-wage floor check has not yet been run and must precede any future metro-level cut of this vertical. Aggregates only; no individual pay exposed.
WageScape / MarketTrak, Q2 2026 · BLS check: OEWS May 2025
