
Culinary career salaries for chefs or head cooks vary widely, depending on a variety of factors. Your work environment is one of them. Fine dining restaurants usually pay some of the highest wages. Other high-paying employers include hotels, resorts and individuals who hire private chefs. Institutional cafeterias, casual or fast food restaurants, and cruise ships tend to be among the lowest paying employers.
Aside from your work environment, your education level, previous work experience and geographic location will also determine your earning potential.
Your degree or diploma will certainly give you an advantage over non-culinary school graduates. Across all fields, bachelor's degree holders earn almost twice as much as those with only a high school diploma, according to the US Census Bureau.
The table below shows the average annual earnings of the middle 50% of restaurant and hospitality employees.*
| Job Title | Annual Earnings of Middle 50% |
| Cooking Assistant | $23,096 - 28,862 |
| Executive Chef | $55,976 - 85,328 |
| Executive Pastry Chef | $45,610 - 68,326 |
| Food Scientist | $48,289 - 73,410 |
| Hotel Manager | $64,926 - 119,094 |
| Line Cook | $19,280 - 25,229 |
| Restaurant Manager | $36,778 - 53,916 |
| Sous Chef | $31,977 - 49,745 |
* HR Data as reported by Salary.com in May, 2008.
Use the Salary Wizard at Salary.com to find out how much chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers currently earn in your city.
Earnings of Chefs, Cooks and Food Preparation Workers: Earnings vary depending on where and in what type of establishment one works. Median annual wages of chefs and head cooks were $34,370 in May of 2006, while the median earnings of restaurant cooks was $20,340. Food preparation workers earned a median annual salary of $17,410.
The above wage data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey program, unless otherwise noted. For the latest National, State, and local earnings data, visit the following pages:
Find Culinary Schools By State
Modified April 2011

The Global Gourmet®
Main Page

Mardi Gras &
Fat Tuesday Recipes
Advanced Search
Recent Searches
Kate's Global Kitchen
Kate's Books
Cookbook Profiles
Global Destinations
Holiday & Party Recipes
I Love Desserts
On Wine
Shopping
New Green Basics
Cooking with Kids
Archives
Conversions, Charts
& Substitutions
Forums/Message Boards
Search
About the
Global Gourmet®
Contact Info
Advertising
Feedback
Privacy Statement
Blood, Bones & Butter
Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
Essential Pepin
Smokin' with Myron Mixon
Momofuku Milk Bar
Oxford Companion to Beer
Plenty
Vegan Bite By Bite
Happy Herbivore Cookbook
Peas and Thank You
Around My French Table
Nordic Cuisine
Chewy Gooey Cookies
Meat: Kitchen Education
Everyday Family Dinners
New York Times Cookbook
Fried Chicken & Champagne
Food Styling
Flying Pans Two Chefs
Asian Palate
Cooking of Ireland
Wedding Cakes
All IACP Nominees
Lowcountry Cooking
My Sweet Mexico
Sarabeth's Bakery
Sommelier
Bottega
Heart of Artichoke
Cook Italy
Oaxaca al Gusto
Stir-Frying
Jam Cookbook
Tartine Bread
Jewish Food
Good Meat
Ham
Pig
Empires of Food
Four Fish
Peace Meals
All Beard Nominees
Copyright © 1994-2012,
Forkmedia LLC
Global Gourmet®
Shopping
Gourmet Food, Cookbooks
Kitchen Gadgets & Gifts
Global Gourmet®
Shopping
Gourmet Food, Cookbooks
Kitchen Gadgets & Gifts
Bestselling Cookbooks
Cooking Light Store
Kitchen Markdowns
Buy 3 Products, Get 4th Free
Kitchen Bonus Deals
Cookware Rebates
Bestselling Small Appliances