Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of sous chef salary by state for the United States:
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Hawaii has the highest sous chef salary of $70,943
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Kansas has the lowest sous chef salary of $35,573
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The national average salary for sous chefs is $48,716
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The national hourly pay for sous chefs is $23.42
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 sous 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 sous 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 sous chefs after this adjustment? That would be Hawaii.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for sous chef salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Sous Chefs By State
| Rank | State | Average Sous Chef Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $70,943 | $55,000 | $91,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $67,942 | $44,000 | $103,000 |
| 3 | California | $58,125 | $39,000 | $85,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $55,116 | $35,000 | $84,000 |
| 5 | Nevada | $54,340 | $37,000 | $79,000 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $53,924 | $34,000 | $83,000 |
| 7 | Washington | $53,403 | $37,000 | $76,000 |
| 8 | New York | $52,890 | $34,000 | $80,000 |
| 9 | Illinois | $51,258 | $36,000 | $72,000 |
| 10 | Maryland | $50,508 | $33,000 | $75,000 |
| 11 | Alaska | $50,364 | $41,000 | $61,000 |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | $48,695 | $32,000 | $73,000 |
| 13 | North Dakota | $48,678 | $35,000 | $67,000 |
| 14 | Virginia | $48,014 | $32,000 | $71,000 |
| 15 | Texas | $47,953 | $33,000 | $68,000 |
| 16 | Oregon | $47,260 | $32,000 | $68,000 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $46,813 | $30,000 | $71,000 |
| 18 | Arizona | $45,879 | $31,000 | $66,000 |
| 19 | Georgia | $45,771 | $32,000 | $64,000 |
| 20 | Florida | $45,541 | $30,000 | $67,000 |
| 21 | Wyoming | $45,496 | $32,000 | $63,000 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $45,147 | $31,000 | $64,000 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | $44,939 | $32,000 | $62,000 |
| 24 | Colorado | $44,173 | $31,000 | $61,000 |
| 25 | Michigan | $43,845 | $30,000 | $63,000 |
| 26 | Maine | $43,764 | $28,000 | $66,000 |
| 27 | Delaware | $43,560 | $28,000 | $65,000 |
| 28 | Alabama | $43,319 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
| 29 | Connecticut | $42,688 | $27,000 | $65,000 |
| 30 | Minnesota | $42,127 | $30,000 | $59,000 |
| 31 | Indiana | $42,080 | $29,000 | $59,000 |
| 32 | Missouri | $41,980 | $30,000 | $58,000 |
| 33 | New Mexico | $41,502 | $29,000 | $59,000 |
| 34 | Arkansas | $41,234 | $29,000 | $57,000 |
| 35 | Montana | $40,252 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 36 | Tennessee | $40,242 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| 37 | Ohio | $40,210 | $28,000 | $57,000 |
| 38 | South Carolina | $40,090 | $28,000 | $57,000 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $39,869 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 40 | Nebraska | $38,856 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 41 | Louisiana | $38,780 | $27,000 | $55,000 |
| 42 | West Virginia | $38,677 | $26,000 | $55,000 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $38,245 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 44 | Idaho | $38,212 | $26,000 | $54,000 |
| 45 | Iowa | $37,929 | $27,000 | $53,000 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $37,889 | $26,000 | $53,000 |
| 47 | Wisconsin | $37,869 | $26,000 | $53,000 |
| 48 | Utah | $37,204 | $26,000 | $53,000 |
| 49 | Vermont | $36,850 | $24,000 | $55,000 |
| 50 | Kansas | $35,573 | $25,000 | $49,000 |
Methodology: Sous Chef Salary By State
To better understand sous 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 sous chefs by state.
We took the average annual salary data for sous chefs from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for sous chefs.
Sous Chef Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for sous chefs?
The highest-paid state for sous chefs is Hawaii with an average salary of $70,943 per year.
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What city pays sous chefs the most?
Atlantic City, NJ pays sous chefs the most with an average salary of $67,560 per year.
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What is the worst state for sous chefs?
The worst state for sous chefs is Kansas with an average salary of $35,573 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.
