Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

35-1011 Chefs and Head Cooks

Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
128,600	2.9 %	$25.08	$52,160	1.1 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$12.66	$17.10	$23.30	$31.01	$39.01
Annual Wage (2)	$26,320	$35,570	$48,460	$64,500	$81,150

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	69,680	0.65	$23.43	$48,740
Special Food Services	15,170	2.11	$26.52	$55,160
Traveler Accommodation	13,730	0.69	$28.91	$60,130
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	6,650	0.51	$29.34	$61,030
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	2,590	0.28	$23.77	$49,430

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Special Food Services	15,170	2.11	$26.52	$55,160
Rooming and Boarding Houses	110	0.93	$20.78	$43,230
Traveler Accommodation	13,730	0.69	$28.91	$60,130
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	69,680	0.65	$23.43	$48,740
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	6,650	0.51	$29.34	$61,030

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Performing Arts Companies	70	0.05	$36.73	$76,400
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water	60	0.35	$34.68	$72,140
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	1,490	0.07	$33.94	$70,600
Office Administrative Services	(8)	(8)	$33.90	$70,510
Management of Companies and Enterprises	1,120	0.05	$32.35	$67,280

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	19,420	1.14	1.29	$24.71	$51,400
New York	15,500	1.65	1.86	$26.93	$56,020
Florida	11,150	1.30	1.46	$25.17	$52,350
Texas	6,020	0.50	0.56	$25.56	$53,170
Massachusetts	4,830	1.35	1.52	$27.08	$56,330

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Vermont	850	2.80	3.15	$21.92	$45,590
Nevada	3,450	2.56	2.88	$27.06	$56,290
South Carolina	3,630	1.76	1.98	$19.63	$40,820
Hawaii	1,080	1.68	1.89	$35.82	$74,510
New York	15,500	1.65	1.86	$26.93	$56,020

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	1,080	1.68	1.89	$35.82	$74,510
New Jersey	2,640	0.65	0.73	$33.78	$70,260
District of Columbia	1,050	1.48	1.66	$31.63	$65,780
Delaware	530	1.18	1.33	$28.52	$59,330
Connecticut	2,640	1.59	1.79	$28.29	$58,830

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	14,310	1.51	1.70	$28.64	$59,570
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	8,230	1.35	1.51	$22.56	$46,930
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	4,020	0.87	0.97	$25.47	$52,980
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	3,930	1.62	1.83	$25.82	$53,710
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	3,580	1.30	1.46	$27.57	$57,350
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	3,030	0.97	1.09	$29.70	$61,770
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	2,920	2.96	3.33	$27.72	$57,650
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	2,840	1.10	1.23	$27.20	$56,570
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	2,670	1.30	1.46	$20.97	$43,620
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	2,590	2.06	2.31	$23.91	$49,740