Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of chef salary by state for the United States:
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Hawaii has the highest chef salary of $71,544
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Wyoming has the lowest chef salary of $27,439
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The national average salary for chefs is $46,824
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The national hourly pay for chefs is $22.51
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do chefs get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for chef by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for chefs after this adjustment? That would be Hawaii.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for chef salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Chefs By State
| Rank | State | Average Chef Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $71,544 | $56,000 | $91,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $66,145 | $42,000 | $102,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $57,071 | $39,000 | $81,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $55,548 | $35,000 | $87,000 |
| 5 | California | $54,271 | $36,000 | $81,000 |
| 6 | Texas | $52,587 | $36,000 | $76,000 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $51,863 | $32,000 | $81,000 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | $51,526 | $33,000 | $78,000 |
| 9 | Nevada | $51,293 | $34,000 | $76,000 |
| 10 | Delaware | $50,789 | $33,000 | $77,000 |
| 11 | Alaska | $50,304 | $40,000 | $62,000 |
| 12 | Vermont | $49,964 | $32,000 | $77,000 |
| 13 | Georgia | $48,701 | $34,000 | $69,000 |
| 14 | Maryland | $48,353 | $32,000 | $72,000 |
| 15 | Connecticut | $48,020 | $30,000 | $75,000 |
| 16 | Maine | $47,627 | $30,000 | $74,000 |
| 17 | Arizona | $47,580 | $32,000 | $69,000 |
| 18 | Illinois | $47,560 | $33,000 | $67,000 |
| 19 | Michigan | $47,395 | $32,000 | $68,000 |
| 20 | North Dakota | $46,969 | $33,000 | $65,000 |
| 21 | Alabama | $46,431 | $32,000 | $66,000 |
| 22 | Oregon | $46,135 | $31,000 | $66,000 |
| 23 | New Mexico | $46,088 | $32,000 | $66,000 |
| 24 | Colorado | $45,910 | $32,000 | $64,000 |
| 25 | New Hampshire | $45,875 | $29,000 | $71,000 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | $45,499 | $32,000 | $64,000 |
| 27 | Missouri | $45,055 | $32,000 | $63,000 |
| 28 | New York | $44,972 | $28,000 | $70,000 |
| 29 | Montana | $44,671 | $32,000 | $62,000 |
| 30 | West Virginia | $43,797 | $30,000 | $63,000 |
| 31 | Florida | $43,207 | $28,000 | $65,000 |
| 32 | Indiana | $41,629 | $29,000 | $59,000 |
| 33 | Utah | $40,357 | $28,000 | $57,000 |
| 34 | Kansas | $40,345 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| 35 | North Carolina | $40,324 | $27,000 | $58,000 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $40,241 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| 37 | Virginia | $39,851 | $26,000 | $59,000 |
| 38 | Minnesota | $39,324 | $27,000 | $55,000 |
| 39 | Louisiana | $38,504 | $26,000 | $55,000 |
| 40 | Mississippi | $37,252 | $26,000 | $53,000 |
| 41 | Ohio | $36,109 | $25,000 | $51,000 |
| 42 | Idaho | $35,857 | $25,000 | $51,000 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $35,248 | $24,000 | $49,000 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $34,789 | $24,000 | $49,000 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $34,540 | $24,000 | $48,000 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $34,538 | $24,000 | $48,000 |
| 47 | Wisconsin | $34,164 | $24,000 | $48,000 |
| 48 | Iowa | $33,821 | $24,000 | $47,000 |
| 49 | South Carolina | $33,257 | $23,000 | $47,000 |
| 50 | Wyoming | $27,439 | $19,000 | $38,000 |
Methodology: Chef Salary By State
To better understand chef pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for chefs by state.
We took the average annual salary data for chefs from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for chefs.
Chef Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for chefs?
The highest-paid state for chefs is Hawaii with an average salary of $71,544 per year.
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What city pays chefs the most?
Urban Honolulu, HI pays chefs the most with an average salary of $71,516 per year.
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What is the worst state for chefs?
The worst state for chefs is Wyoming with an average salary of $27,439 per year.
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.
