Cooking Chef Salary
$21K - $27.5K
5% of jobs
$27.5K - $34K
17% of jobs
$35K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$34K - $40.5K
22% of jobs
The median wage is $44.1K / yr.
$40.5K - $47K
11% of jobs
$47K - $53.5K
11% of jobs
$53.5K - $60K
9% of jobs
$60.4K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$60K - $66.5K
8% of jobs
$66.5K - $73K
6% of jobs
$73K - $79.5K
4% of jobs
$79.5K - $86K
5% of jobs
$86K - $92.5K
2% of jobs
$21K
$45K
$93K
$51,225
/year
$24.63
/hour
Cooking Chef Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$51,225
Columbus
Ohio
$49,478
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How much does a Cooking Chef make?
As of Jul 31, 2026, the average annual pay for a Cooking Chef in the United States is $51,225 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $24.63 an hour. This is the equivalent of $985/week or $4,268/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $93,000 and as low as $21,000, the majority of Cooking Chef salaries currently range between $35,000 (25th percentile) to $64,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $84,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Cooking Chef varies greatly (by as much as 29500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Cooking Chef in your area makes on average $49,478 per year, or $1,747 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $51,225. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Cooking Chef salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Cooking Chef jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Cooking Chef on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Cooking Chef Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Cooking Chef job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with Hettinger, ND, and Berkeley, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Berkeley, CA, beats the national average by $11,497 (22.4%), and Nome, AK, furthers that trend with another $12,319 (24.0%) above the $51,225 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Cooking Chef appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 5% between Nome, AK, and Redmond, WA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Cooking Chef role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $63,544 | $30.55 |
Hettinger, ND | $63,316 | $30.44 |
Berkeley, CA | $62,722 | $30.15 |
Denali National Park, AK | $62,696 | $30.14 |
Aspen, CO | $61,916 | $29.77 |
Sitka, AK | $61,710 | $29.67 |
Waimea, HI | $61,027 | $29.34 |
Snowmass Village, CO | $60,744 | $29.20 |
San Francisco, CA | $60,352 | $29.02 |
Redmond, WA | $60,349 | $29.01 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Cooking Chef Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Cooking Chef category.
For example Junior Sous Chef jobs pay as much as $7,773 (15.2%) more than the average Cooking Chef salary of $51,225. If you're qualified, finding work as a Junior Sous Chef may help you make more money than that of the average Cooking Chef position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Junior Sous Chef | $58,998 | $28.36 |
Pastry Sous Chef | $51,506 | $24.76 |
Patina Restaurant Group | $47,783 | $22.97 |
Wolf | $40,786 | $19.61 |
Cook Iii | $39,143 | $18.82 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
