Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

35-1011 Chefs and Head Cooks

Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.

National estimates for Chefs and Head Cooks
Industry profile for Chefs and Head Cooks
Geographic profile for Chefs and Head Cooks

National estimates for Chefs and Head Cooks:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Chefs and Head Cooks:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
172,370	3.1 %	$ 30.12	$ 62,640	0.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for Chefs and Head Cooks:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 17.33	$ 21.92	$ 28.33	$ 36.34	$ 45.14
Annual Wage (2)	$ 36,040	$ 45,590	$ 58,920	$ 75,590	$ 93,900

Industry profile for Chefs and Head Cooks:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Chefs and Head Cooks are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Chefs and Head Cooks, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Chefs and Head Cooks:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	91,660	0.84	$ 28.15	$ 58,560
Special Food Services	18,990	2.64	$ 32.30	$ 67,190
Traveler Accommodation	17,870	0.97	$ 35.24	$ 73,300
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	9,590	0.70	$ 36.81	$ 76,560
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	4,250	0.46	$ 27.75	$ 57,710

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Chefs and Head Cooks:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Special Food Services	18,990	2.64	$ 32.30	$ 67,190
Traveler Accommodation	17,870	0.97	$ 35.24	$ 73,300
Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps	90	0.91	$ 27.11	$ 56,380
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	91,660	0.84	$ 28.15	$ 58,560
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	9,590	0.70	$ 36.81	$ 76,560

Top paying industries for Chefs and Head Cooks:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	350	0.03	$ 55.45	$ 115,330
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	(8)	(8)	$ 52.07	$ 108,300
Scientific Research and Development Services	70	0.01	$ 48.58	$ 101,040
Motion Picture and Video Industries	130	0.03	$ 40.90	$ 85,060
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	1,420	0.07	$ 40.07	$ 83,340

Geographic profile for Chefs and Head Cooks:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Chefs and Head Cooks are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Chefs and Head Cooks, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Map of employment of chefs and head cooks by state, May 2023

States with the highest employment level in Chefs and Head Cooks:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	27,460	1.53	1.35	$ 32.28	$ 67,150
Florida	14,910	1.56	1.37	$ 29.75	$ 61,880
Texas	13,670	1.01	0.89	$ 25.46	$ 52,950
New York	13,670	1.45	1.28	$ 32.89	$ 68,410
Illinois	7,650	1.27	1.12	$ 32.03	$ 66,610

Map of location quotient of chefs and head cooks by state, May 2023

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Chefs and Head Cooks:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nevada	3,900	2.63	2.32	$ 29.82	$ 62,020
Vermont	770	2.57	2.27	$ 31.19	$ 64,870
District of Columbia	1,770	2.52	2.22	$ 36.31	$ 75,520
Connecticut	3,490	2.10	1.85	$ 32.19	$ 66,950
Alaska	570	1.81	1.60	$ 31.59	$ 65,710

Map of annual mean wages of chefs and head cooks by state, May 2023

Top paying states for Chefs and Head Cooks:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	580	0.94	0.83	$ 47.84	$ 99,520
Rhode Island	500	1.02	0.90	$ 39.03	$ 81,170
Massachusetts	4,470	1.23	1.08	$ 37.08	$ 77,120
District of Columbia	1,770	2.52	2.22	$ 36.31	$ 75,520
New Jersey	6,350	1.51	1.33	$ 34.18	$ 71,100

Map of employment of chefs and head cooks by area, May 2023

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Chefs and Head Cooks:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	15,540	1.64	1.44	$ 33.68	$ 70,060
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	9,480	1.53	1.35	$ 31.28	$ 65,060
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	6,500	1.44	1.27	$ 32.99	$ 68,620
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	5,600	2.06	1.81	$ 30.35	$ 63,130
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	4,820	1.99	1.75	$ 34.14	$ 71,020
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	4,160	1.35	1.19	$ 33.54	$ 69,770
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	3,690	0.93	0.82	$ 26.19	$ 54,460
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	3,400	1.23	1.08	$ 37.52	$ 78,040
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	3,380	3.12	2.75	$ 30.15	$ 62,700
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	2,940	1.04	0.91	$ 34.35	$ 71,440

Map of location quotient of chefs and head cooks by area, May 2023

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Chefs and Head Cooks:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Brunswick, GA	160	3.51	3.09	$ 26.61	$ 55,350
Ocean City, NJ	140	3.46	3.05	$ 33.99	$ 70,690
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL	540	3.33	2.93	$ 33.99	$ 70,700
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL	180	3.32	2.92	$ 28.70	$ 59,700
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	3,380	3.12	2.75	$ 30.15	$ 62,700
Napa, CA	230	2.95	2.60	$ 38.62	$ 80,320
The Villages, FL	110	2.92	2.57	$ 32.03	$ 66,630
Kingston, NY	160	2.82	2.49	$ 29.69	$ 61,760
Barnstable Town, MA	280	2.76	2.43	$ 35.92	$ 74,720
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	1,100	2.75	2.42	$ 34.68	$ 72,130