Chef Salary (United States)
United States head chefs typically earn around 55,000 to 75,000 dollars per year, while line cooks commonly earn 30,000 to 40,000.
Overview
Kitchen pay scales steeply by station: entry prep and line cooks earn near the bottom of the wage distribution, sous chefs land mid-fifties, and executive chefs at hotels, country clubs and successful groups earn 80,000 to 120,000. Ownership is the real upside and the real risk, with restaurant margins famously thin. Culinary school is optional and its debt is contested given starting pay. Nights, weekends and holidays are standard. These indicative figures come from federal wage data and industry surveys.
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