Chefs and Head Cooks pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
$64,510avg. a year
$31.02 an hour · 6,840 employed
Chefs and Head Cooks in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area earn an average of $64,510 a year. That is $1,700 (3%) more than the Illinois average of $62,810. The U.S. average is $66,700.
$60,770Median pay
$31.02Average hourly
+3%vs. Illinois average
6,840Jobs in this metro
Other Illinois metro areas
Average pay for chefs and head cooks in other Illinois metro areas. Swipe to see all 9.
11,030 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$66,800
$32.12 an hour
2100 jobs
Bloomington, IL
$57,290
$27.54 an hour
3190 jobs
Peoria, IL
$56,750
$27.28 an hour
4100 jobs
Springfield, IL
$56,190
$27.01 an hour
5130 jobs
Rockford, IL
$53,670
$25.80 an hour
6130 jobs
Champaign-Urbana, IL
$53,240
$25.60 an hour
7180 jobs
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
$53,090
$25.52 an hour
840 jobs
Kankakee, IL
$51,650
$24.83 an hour
940 jobs
Paducah, KY-IL
$49,810
$23.95 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.
How Chicago-Naperville-Elgin compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroIllinoisU.S.
Illinois metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $47,000 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $34,690 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $35,650 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $40,450 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $36,980 |
| Bartenders | $35,740 |
Questions and answers
How much do chefs and head cooks make in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
The average is $64,510 a year, and the median is $60,770. About 6,840 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the Illinois average?
That is $1,700 (3%) more than the Illinois average of $62,810.
Is this job common in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
It makes up 1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 1.18 times the national share.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, occupation code 35-1011. Metro area: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 16980). Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.