Find a Job You Really Want In
Chefs are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as chefs in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since chefs are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where chefs have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around, and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for chefs. After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s chefs:
So there you have it — Nevada is the best of the best when it comes to being a chefs.
How did it end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for chefs and for more on the top ten states.
How we determined the best states to be a chef
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Pay
So in order to find out the best states for chefs in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well chefs get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for chefs in California is $45,810 and the average salary in Illinois is $44,350, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for chefs in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for chefs.
1. Nevada
Total Jobs: 3,400
Average Annual Salary: $51,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,670
Average Experienced Salary: $77,470
Location Quotient: 2.94
2. Florida
Total Jobs: 7,800
Average Annual Salary: $54,820
Average Entry Level Salary: $30,280
Average Experienced Salary: $85,280
Location Quotient: 1.05
3. Rhode Island
Total Jobs: 610
Average Annual Salary: $53,480
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,580
Average Experienced Salary: $76,950
Location Quotient: 1.38
4. New Jersey
Total Jobs: 3,690
Average Annual Salary: $58,200
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,190
Average Experienced Salary: $82,040
Location Quotient: 1.01
5. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 280
Average Annual Salary: $46,750
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,790
Average Experienced Salary: $63,760
Location Quotient: 1.05
6. Kentucky
Total Jobs: 750
Average Annual Salary: $45,970
Average Entry Level Salary: $29,520
Average Experienced Salary: $71,020
Location Quotient: 0.43
7. Massachusetts
Total Jobs: 4,510
Average Annual Salary: $55,840
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,730
Average Experienced Salary: $83,270
Location Quotient: 1.42
8. West Virginia
Total Jobs: 330
Average Annual Salary: $49,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,580
Average Experienced Salary: $69,810
Location Quotient: 0.49
9. Vermont
Total Jobs: 290
Average Annual Salary: $46,310
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,620
Average Experienced Salary: $71,370
Location Quotient: 1.03
10. Ohio
Total Jobs: 3,300
Average Annual Salary: $44,170
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,610
Average Experienced Salary: $68,740
Location Quotient: 0.67
There You Have It
If you’re looking to start out your career as a chef these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a chef in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For Chefs
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | $51,380 |
| 2 | Florida | $54,820 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $53,480 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $58,200 |
| 5 | Wyoming | $46,750 |
| 6 | Kentucky | $45,970 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $55,840 |
| 8 | West Virginia | $49,100 |
| 9 | Vermont | $46,310 |
| 10 | Ohio | $44,170 |
| 11 | Washington | $52,700 |
| 12 | Alabama | $47,530 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | $47,590 |
| 14 | Nebraska | $51,340 |
| 15 | North Carolina | $47,470 |
| 16 | Delaware | $47,540 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $46,620 |
| 18 | Michigan | $45,780 |
| 19 | Arizona | $45,300 |
| 20 | Maryland | $52,140 |
| 21 | Colorado | $48,070 |
| 22 | Missouri | $43,710 |
| 23 | Texas | $43,380 |
| 24 | Arkansas | $38,520 |
| 25 | North Dakota | $41,390 |
| 26 | South Dakota | $40,480 |
| 27 | Oregon | $45,920 |
| 28 | Illinois | $44,350 |
| 29 | Maine | $40,970 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | $43,440 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $39,440 |
| 32 | Mississippi | $38,660 |
| 33 | Virginia | $44,790 |
| 34 | New York | $46,720 |
| 35 | California | $45,810 |
| 36 | Connecticut | $47,350 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $36,330 |
| 38 | Montana | $38,030 |
| 39 | New Mexico | $40,710 |
| 40 | Alaska | $41,970 |
| 41 | Utah | $39,340 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $37,800 |
| 43 | Hawaii | $44,650 |
| 44 | Indiana | $39,300 |
| 45 | Georgia | $34,880 |
| 46 | Kansas | $35,750 |
| 47 | Idaho | $32,360 |
| 48 | Tennessee | $31,120 |
| 49 | Wisconsin | $39,420 |
| 50 | Iowa | $35,500 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
