Typical 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
Typical Chef Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$51,225
Columbus
Ohio
$49,478
Do you get a good deal as a Typical Chef?
Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.
Take The Breakroom Quiz
How much does a Typical Chef make?
As of Aug 25, 2026, the average annual pay for a Typical 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 Typical 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 Typical 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 Typical 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 Typical Chef salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Typical Chef jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Typical Chef on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Typical Chef Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Typical Chef job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with Hettinger, ND, and Denali National Park, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Denali National Park, AK, beats the national average by $11,471 (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 Typical 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 Typical Chef role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $63,544 | $30.55 |
Hettinger, ND | $63,316 | $30.44 |
Denali National Park, AK | $62,696 | $30.14 |
Aspen, CO | $61,916 | $29.77 |
Sitka, AK | $61,710 | $29.67 |
Teton Village, WY | $61,679 | $29.65 |
Santa Clara, CA | $61,113 | $29.38 |
Waimea, HI | $61,027 | $29.34 |
San Francisco, CA | $60,401 | $29.04 |
Redmond, WA | $60,349 | $29.01 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Typical Chef Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Typical Chef category.
For example Corporate Employee jobs pay as much as $81,837 (159.8%) more than the average Typical Chef salary of $51,225. If you're qualified, finding work as a Corporate Employee may help you make more money than that of the average Typical Chef position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Corporate Employee | $133,062 | $63.97 |
Hy Vee Dietitian | $76,000 | $36.54 |
Full Time Personal Chef | $69,673 | $33.50 |
Kitchen Cook | $33,340 | $16.03 |
Restaurant Cook | $27,597 | $13.27 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
