Chefs and Head Cooks pay in the U.S.
$66,700avg. a year
$32.07 an hour · 200,040 employed
Chefs and Head Cooks in the U.S. earn an average of $66,700 a year and a median of $62,470. Pay is highest in Rhode Island ($84,860) and lowest in South Dakota ($47,900).
$62,470Median pay
$32.07Average hourly
+14%Avg. pay since 2020
200,040Jobs in the U.S.
Top-paying states for chefs and head cooks
Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.
1740 jobs
Rhode Island
$84,860
$40.80 an hour
21,240 jobs
Hawaii
$80,720
$38.81 an hour
32,020 jobs
District of Columbia
$79,660
$38.30 an hour
417,430 jobs
New York
$74,840
$35.98 an hour
55,320 jobs
Washington
$74,670
$35.90 an hour
6240 jobs
Wyoming
$74,570
$35.85 an hour
76,000 jobs
Massachusetts
$73,420
$35.30 an hour
89,100 jobs
New Jersey
$72,930
$35.06 an hour
92,650 jobs
South Carolina
$70,780
$34.03 an hour
103,820 jobs
Tennessee
$70,710
$34.00 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Chefs and Head Cooks pay, charted
Pay over time
United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where the jobs are
Employment by state, May 2025
Average pay by state
May 2025 · tap a state
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Under $60k$60k–$66k$66k–$70k$70k+
Top-paying metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
| Metro area | Avg. pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $91,380 | $43.93 |
| Napa, CA | $83,750 | $40.26 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $80,150 | $38.53 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $79,500 | $38.22 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $79,440 | $38.19 |
| Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | $77,860 | $37.43 |
| Kingston, NY | $77,740 | $37.37 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $76,820 | $36.93 |
Related jobs
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$46,180
- Fast Food and Counter Workers$32,150
- Waiters and Waitresses$40,060
- Cooks, Restaurant$38,730
- Food Preparation Workers$35,290
- Bartenders$40,790
Average U.S. pay, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Chefs and Head Cooks pay in every state
States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.
| State | Avg. pay | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $63,720 | $62,400 | 1,000 |
| Alaska | $59,430 | $52,190 | 680 |
| Arizona | $60,330 | $59,890 | 4,080 |
| Arkansas | $53,820 | $46,170 | 880 |
| California | $69,130 | $64,500 | 31,670 |
| Colorado | $70,320 | $65,400 | 3,970 |
| Connecticut | $69,680 | $64,310 | 3,080 |
| Delaware | $66,590 | $61,440 | 590 |
| District of Columbia | $79,660 | $76,420 | 2,020 |
| Florida | $61,720 | $58,240 | 19,670 |
| Georgia | $70,450 | $66,230 | 3,680 |
| Hawaii | $80,720 | $77,360 | 1,240 |
| Idaho | $57,390 | $52,000 | 550 |
| Illinois | $62,810 | $58,830 | 8,290 |
| Indiana | $55,060 | $52,190 | 1,940 |
| Iowa | $52,840 | $47,990 | 1,640 |
| Kansas | $60,930 | $58,390 | 860 |
| Kentucky | $55,770 | $48,070 | 1,790 |
| Louisiana | $52,820 | $45,570 | 1,990 |
| Maine | $61,540 | $57,010 | 1,250 |
| Maryland | $65,930 | $61,590 | 3,220 |
| Massachusetts | $73,420 | $69,540 | 6,000 |
| Michigan | $62,460 | $60,070 | 5,360 |
| Minnesota | $66,910 | $62,600 | 1,730 |
| Mississippi | $56,910 | $54,850 | 840 |
| Missouri | $66,640 | $64,480 | 1,750 |
| Montana | $61,580 | $57,470 | 720 |
| Nebraska | $66,990 | $60,510 | 540 |
| Nevada | $67,380 | $62,380 | 3,940 |
| New Hampshire | $66,530 | $63,400 | 1,170 |
| New Jersey | $72,930 | $74,280 | 9,100 |
| New Mexico | $67,080 | $62,250 | 770 |
| New York | $74,840 | $70,670 | 17,430 |
| North Carolina | $63,960 | $61,130 | 4,920 |
| North Dakota | $68,520 | $74,740 | 100 |
| Ohio | $61,220 | $53,990 | 4,000 |
| Oklahoma | $57,190 | $58,540 | 1,430 |
| Oregon | $67,510 | $63,600 | 2,510 |
| Pennsylvania | $67,890 | $63,860 | 9,170 |
| Rhode Island | $84,860 | $79,930 | 740 |
| South Carolina | $70,780 | $71,860 | 2,650 |
| South Dakota | $47,900 | $48,470 | 300 |
| Tennessee | $70,710 | $69,810 | 3,820 |
| Texas | $59,350 | $56,080 | 13,270 |
| Utah | $58,880 | $59,060 | 1,740 |
| Vermont | $68,130 | $65,440 | 610 |
| Virginia | $65,320 | $63,270 | 3,600 |
| Washington | $74,670 | $76,010 | 5,320 |
| West Virginia | $64,600 | $61,100 | 350 |
| Wisconsin | $64,210 | $61,300 | 1,860 |
| Wyoming | $74,570 | $73,170 | 240 |
Metro areas with the most jobs
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$74,840
20,010 jobsLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$69,260
11,430 jobsMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL$60,190
8,210 jobsChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$64,510
6,840 jobsPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$71,310
5,700 jobsSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$73,910
5,340 jobsWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$74,250
4,680 jobsBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$75,450
4,430 jobsQuestions and answers
How much do chefs and head cooks make?
The average is $66,700 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $62,470 and half earn less (the median).
What is the hourly pay?
The average hourly wage is $32.07, and the median is $30.03 an hour.
Which state pays chefs and head cooks the most?
Rhode Island, with an average of $84,860 a year. The best-paying metro area is Kahului-Wailuku, HI at $91,380.
What is the pay range?
The lowest-paid 10% earn under $37,900 a year, and the top 10% earn over $98,560.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 35-1011. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.