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Job Title · City Detail

Cook Iii Salary in Austin, Texas

In Austin, the State of Texas reports 6 public employees holding the COOK III classification. Average annual base pay is $44,654, with a median of $44,355 and a range from $41,355 to $47,355. The largest employer of this title in Austin is HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION.

Employees6
Average pay$44,654
Median pay$44,355
Top earner$47,355

How Austin compares for the COOK III role

Across all of Texas state government, the average base pay for the COOK III classification is $44,654, calculated from 6 employees in 2+ agencies statewide. In Austin specifically the average sits at $44,654, which runs about 0% below the statewide figure for this role — a difference of $0.00 per year between an average Austin incumbent and an average Texas incumbent in the same classification. That gap is consistent with what you would expect given the mix of employers active in Austin and the cost-of-living posture of the metro relative to other Texas cities.

Compared to all public-sector employees in Austin (regardless of title), the COOK III role pays about 64% less than the citywide average of $122,907. That places this title below the citywide average, which is common for support, technical, and entry-level state classifications — the citywide figure is pulled upward by the state's senior medical, judicial, executive, and academic-leadership salaries. For an apples-to-apples comparison against other roles in Austin, see our city profile for Austin or compare against the same title in other Texas cities via the COOK III hub.

Within Austin, the COOK III classification appears at 2 different state employers: HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, TX SCHOOL FOR BLIND & VISUALLY IMPAIRED. The single largest employer is HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, which accounts for 5 of the 6 reported records in this combination. Where multiple agencies employ the same classification, pay variation is normal — agencies set individual pay within the state classification plan's salary band based on tenure, market conditions, and any agency-specific salary supplements that have been authorized by the Legislature or by the agency's governing board.

Top Cook Iiis in Austin by pay

NameAgencyAnnual payHire date
Jean Mcgrew HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION $47,355 September 1, 2017
Tysheka Roberts HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION $47,355 March 16, 2022
Anthony Miles HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION $44,355 June 28, 2023
Jackson Miller HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION $44,355 July 1, 2023
Sharon Smith TX SCHOOL FOR BLIND & VISUALLY IMPAIRED $43,149 August 6, 2019
Sillah Koroma HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION $41,355 January 1, 2026

Reading this number in context

The annual pay column on this page reflects what the State of Texas reports as the employee’s annualized base salary at the time of the most recent payroll snapshot. It does not include benefits, retirement contributions (such as TRS or ERS employer contributions), longevity pay, hazardous-duty pay, paid leave cash-outs, contract buyouts, or any supplements paid out of foundation, athletic, or grant funds — categories that can add materially to total compensation, especially in academic medical centers and senior university roles. Use the figures here as an apples-to-apples baseline for comparison; treat them as the starting point of a conversation, not the final word.

Two employees in Austin with the same COOK III title can earn very different amounts for legitimate reasons. The State of Texas operates a position classification plan in which most titles map to a salary group with a defined minimum, midpoint, and maximum, and agencies are free to set individual pay anywhere within that band. Universities and elected-officials’ offices are exempt from the standard plan altogether and set pay independently. Tenure, prior agency service, market-pay adjustments approved under Texas Government Code Chapter 659, and acting-leadership stipends all contribute to within-title variation. For the full set of caveats, see our methodology.

If you want to compare what the COOK III role pays in other Texas cities, the COOK III hub aggregates every reported incumbent statewide. To see what other classifications pay in Austin, the Austin city profile breaks down the local mix of employers and titles. For peer roles, the job-titles index is the master list.