Quick answer
Chefs in the US earn a median of $30.03 an hour ($62,470 a year), according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data for May 2025. The middle half earn $23.29 to $37.86. Self-employed chefs usually bill more, about $69 an hour at the median wage, to cover taxes, overhead, unbilled time, and profit.
Chefs pay in the US
Hourly wages for 200,040 employed chefs, May 2025.
| Lowest 10% | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Top 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $18.22 | $23.29 | $30.03 | $37.86 | $47.39 |
Turn a wage into a billing rate
Wages above are what employers pay chefs. If you work for yourself, your rate also has to cover what an employer would pay for. Change any number to match your business.
Starts at the national median for chefs
Self-employment tax, liability insurance, benefits
Hours you can charge for after quotes, travel, and admin
Tools, vehicle, software, marketing
What the business keeps after paying you
$69 per hour
Pay x (1 + taxes) x (1 + overhead) x (1 + profit), divided by billable time. This is an estimate to start from, not a market price.
Pay by state
Median hourly pay in the 51 states with published data, highest first.
| State | Median | Middle half | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $38.43 | $34.44 to $46.24 | 740 |
| Hawaii | $37.19 | $26.22 to $47.42 | 1,240 |
| District of Columbia | $36.74 | $30.55 to $39.11 | 2,020 |
| Washington | $36.54 | $28.20 to $39.20 | 5,320 |
| North Dakota | $35.93 | $23.53 to $37.84 | 100 |
| New Jersey | $35.71 | $28.78 to $39.52 | 9,100 |
| Wyoming | $35.18 | $29.85 to $40.24 | 240 |
| South Carolina | $34.55 | $28.90 to $38.01 | 2,650 |
| New York | $33.98 | $26.48 to $44.83 | 17,430 |
| Tennessee | $33.56 | $27.63 to $39.37 | 3,820 |
| Massachusetts | $33.43 | $26.02 to $39.93 | 6,000 |
| Georgia | $31.84 | $24.15 to $43.44 | 3,680 |
| Vermont | $31.46 | $27.29 to $37.19 | 610 |
| Colorado | $31.44 | $27.99 to $38.18 | 3,970 |
| California | $31.01 | $22.27 to $38.96 | 31,670 |
| Missouri | $31.00 | $23.82 to $36.79 | 1,750 |
| Connecticut | $30.92 | $24.59 to $37.41 | 3,080 |
| Pennsylvania | $30.70 | $23.69 to $39.32 | 9,170 |
| Oregon | $30.58 | $25.80 to $37.22 | 2,510 |
| New Hampshire | $30.48 | $25.25 to $36.68 | 1,170 |
| Virginia | $30.42 | $24.12 to $37.15 | 3,600 |
| Minnesota | $30.10 | $25.51 to $36.52 | 1,730 |
| Alabama | $30.00 | $24.47 to $35.64 | 1,000 |
| Nevada | $29.99 | $24.00 to $37.81 | 3,940 |
| New Mexico | $29.93 | $23.34 to $40.03 | 770 |
| Maryland | $29.61 | $21.65 to $37.78 | 3,220 |
| Delaware | $29.54 | $27.00 to $36.69 | 590 |
| Wisconsin | $29.47 | $23.65 to $35.62 | 1,860 |
| North Carolina | $29.39 | $23.25 to $36.70 | 4,920 |
| West Virginia | $29.38 | $23.07 to $39.65 | 350 |
| Nebraska | $29.09 | $22.13 to $39.26 | 540 |
| Michigan | $28.88 | $23.54 to $35.62 | 5,360 |
| Arizona | $28.79 | $18.50 to $36.05 | 4,080 |
| Utah | $28.39 | $20.07 to $36.46 | 1,740 |
| Illinois | $28.29 | $24.04 to $35.39 | 8,290 |
| Oklahoma | $28.14 | $18.19 to $32.48 | 1,430 |
| Kansas | $28.07 | $21.15 to $36.06 | 860 |
| Florida | $28.00 | $21.00 to $36.46 | 19,670 |
| Montana | $27.63 | $23.51 to $34.63 | 720 |
| Maine | $27.41 | $26.48 to $30.32 | 1,250 |
| Texas | $26.96 | $20.21 to $34.55 | 13,270 |
| Mississippi | $26.37 | $17.87 to $36.71 | 840 |
| Ohio | $25.96 | $22.00 to $35.64 | 4,000 |
| Alaska | $25.09 | $19.90 to $35.16 | 680 |
| Indiana | $25.09 | $18.80 to $31.25 | 1,940 |
| Idaho | $25.00 | $20.35 to $32.18 | 550 |
| South Dakota | $23.30 | $19.06 to $24.94 | 300 |
| Kentucky | $23.11 | $17.71 to $32.10 | 1,790 |
| Iowa | $23.07 | $20.49 to $28.55 | 1,640 |
| Arkansas | $22.20 | $18.96 to $31.24 | 880 |
| Louisiana | $21.91 | $19.06 to $28.38 | 1,990 |
States are left out when BLS does not publish an estimate for them.
Chefs pay FAQ
How much do chefs make an hour?
The national median is $30.03 an hour. The lowest-paid 10% earn under $18.22 and the top 10% earn over $47.39. Pay depends on location, experience, and specialty.
Which state pays chefs the most?
Rhode Island has the highest median at $38.43 an hour, and Louisiana the lowest at $21.91, among the 51 states with published data. Higher-paying states usually have higher living costs too.
How much should a self-employed chef charge per hour?
Start from the pay you want, then add taxes and insurance, overhead, and profit, and divide by the share of hours you can bill. At the median wage and our default assumptions, that comes to about $69 an hour. Use the calculator on this page to plug in your own numbers.
Where does this pay data come from?
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), occupation "Chefs and Head Cooks". It covers employees on payrolls, not self-employed workers or business owners.
Source
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 35-1011 "Chefs and Head Cooks". Figures are wages for employees and do not include self-employed workers. The billing rate is our estimate using the assumptions in the calculator.