Best US Cities for Chefs
Top US cities for Chefs ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu, HI | $72,500 | 1.30× | +$18,500 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $71,000 | 1.45× | +$17,000 |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | $69,200 | 1.22× | +$15,200 |
| 4 | Anaheim, CA | $67,500 | 1.18× | +$13,500 |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $67,500 | 1.18× | +$13,500 |
| 6 | Oakland, CA | $67,200 | 1.35× | +$13,200 |
| 7 | New York City, NY | $66,100 | 1.32× | +$12,100 |
| 8 | San Diego, CA | $65,600 | 1.21× | +$11,600 |
| 9 | Irvine, CA | $65,300 | 1.30× | +$11,300 |
| 10 | Miami, FL | $64,900 | 1.12× | +$10,900 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu, HI | $72,500 | $35/hr |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $71,000 | $34/hr |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | $69,200 | $33/hr |
| 4 | Anaheim, CA | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 6 | Oakland, CA | $67,200 | $32/hr |
| 7 | New York City, NY | $66,100 | $32/hr |
| 8 | San Diego, CA | $65,600 | $32/hr |
| 9 | Irvine, CA | $65,300 | $31/hr |
| 10 | Miami, FL | $64,900 | $31/hr |
| 11 | Long Beach, CA | $64,400 | $31/hr |
| 12 | Boston, MA | $62,300 | $30/hr |
| 13 | Las Vegas, NV | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 14 | Yonkers, NY | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 15 | Anchorage, AK | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 16 | Seattle, WA | $60,800 | $29/hr |
| 17 | Henderson, NV | $60,800 | $29/hr |
| 18 | Reno, NV | $60,800 | $29/hr |
| 19 | Orlando, FL | $60,400 | $29/hr |
| 20 | Chula Vista, CA | $59,700 | $29/hr |
| 21 | Frisco, TX | $59,300 | $29/hr |
| 22 | Phoenix, AZ | $58,100 | $28/hr |
| 23 | Tampa, FL | $58,100 | $28/hr |
| 24 | Charleston, SC | $58,100 | $28/hr |
| 25 | Portland, OR | $57,800 | $28/hr |
| 26 | Newark, NJ | $57,800 | $28/hr |
| 27 | Sacramento, CA | $57,800 | $28/hr |
| 28 | Riverside, CA | $57,800 | $28/hr |
| 29 | New Orleans, LA | $57,400 | $28/hr |
| 30 | Virginia Beach, VA | $57,200 | $28/hr |
| 31 | Denver, CO | $57,000 | $27/hr |
| 32 | Nashville, TN | $56,800 | $27/hr |
| 33 | Colorado Springs, CO | $56,800 | $27/hr |
| 34 | St. Petersburg, FL | $56,800 | $27/hr |
| 35 | Chicago, IL | $55,900 | $27/hr |
| 36 | Austin, TX | $55,900 | $27/hr |
| 37 | Baltimore, MD | $55,900 | $27/hr |
| 38 | Stockton, CA | $55,900 | $27/hr |
| 39 | Aurora, CO | $55,900 | $27/hr |
| 40 | Hialeah, FL | $55,900 | $27/hr |
| 41 | Tucson, AZ | $55,700 | $27/hr |
| 42 | Glendale, AZ | $55,700 | $27/hr |
| 43 | Minneapolis, MN | $55,500 | $27/hr |
| 44 | Plano, TX | $55,500 | $27/hr |
| 45 | Chandler, AZ | $55,500 | $27/hr |
| 46 | Arlington, TX | $55,200 | $27/hr |
| 47 | Philadelphia, PA | $54,800 | $26/hr |
| 48 | Atlanta, GA | $54,800 | $26/hr |
| 49 | Gilbert, AZ | $54,800 | $26/hr |
| 50 | Salt Lake City, UT | $54,800 | $26/hr |
| 51 | San Antonio, TX | $54,500 | $26/hr |
| 52 | Knoxville, TN | $54,100 | $26/hr |
| 53 | Wilmington, DE | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 54 | Raleigh, NC | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 55 | St. Paul, MN | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 56 | Chesapeake, VA | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 57 | North Las Vegas, NV | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 58 | Boise, ID | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 59 | Fresno, CA | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 60 | Worcester, MA | $54,000 | $26/hr |
| 61 | Dallas, TX | $53,600 | $26/hr |
| 62 | Bakersfield, CA | $53,600 | $26/hr |
| 63 | Madison, WI | $53,600 | $26/hr |
| 64 | Norfolk, VA | $53,200 | $26/hr |
| 65 | Jacksonville, FL | $52,900 | $25/hr |
| 66 | Charlotte, NC | $52,900 | $25/hr |
| 67 | Mesa, AZ | $52,900 | $25/hr |
| 68 | Houston, TX | $52,500 | $25/hr |
| 69 | Fort Worth, TX | $52,500 | $25/hr |
| 70 | Garland, TX | $52,500 | $25/hr |
| 71 | Spokane, WA | $52,500 | $25/hr |
| 72 | Pittsburgh, PA | $52,100 | $25/hr |
| 73 | Tallahassee, FL | $52,100 | $25/hr |
| 74 | Milwaukee, WI | $51,700 | $25/hr |
| 75 | Albuquerque, NM | $51,700 | $25/hr |
| 76 | Grand Rapids, MI | $51,400 | $25/hr |
| 77 | Columbus, OH | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 78 | Detroit, MI | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 79 | Cincinnati, OH | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 80 | Kansas City, MO | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 81 | Lexington, KY | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 82 | Corpus Christi, TX | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 83 | Buffalo, NY | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 84 | Greensboro, NC | $51,000 | $25/hr |
| 85 | El Paso, TX | $50,600 | $24/hr |
| 86 | Cleveland, OH | $50,600 | $24/hr |
| 87 | St. Louis, MO | $50,600 | $24/hr |
| 88 | Winston-Salem, NC | $50,600 | $24/hr |
| 89 | Indianapolis, IN | $50,200 | $24/hr |
| 90 | Louisville, KY | $50,200 | $24/hr |
| 91 | Omaha, NE | $50,200 | $24/hr |
| 92 | Memphis, TN | $49,800 | $24/hr |
| 93 | Oklahoma City, OK | $49,800 | $24/hr |
| 94 | Lincoln, NE | $49,800 | $24/hr |
| 95 | Birmingham, AL | $49,500 | $24/hr |
| 96 | Toledo, OH | $49,500 | $24/hr |
| 97 | Lubbock, TX | $49,500 | $24/hr |
| 98 | Wichita, KS | $48,700 | $23/hr |
| 99 | Fort Wayne, IN | $48,700 | $23/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $48,700 | $23/hr |
Does location actually decide Chef pay?
This is a career where location is not negotiable — the work has to be done on site. That makes the 49% gap across these metros consequential in a way it is not for desk-based occupations: capturing the top of this list means moving to it.
Worth checking before you plan around these numbers: Chef needs Food handler/safety certification (e.g. ServSafe) typically required, and reciprocity between states varies from automatic to nonexistent. The higher-paying metro is only worth what you can actually earn there after re-credentialing.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The number that ranks these metros is not the number you live on. In Honolulu, $72,500 against $2,100/month rent leaves roughly $47,300 a year after housing. In Mobile, $48,700 against $850 leaves about $38,500. The top still wins after rent, but by $8,800 rather than the $23,800 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
The metros at the top are not simply the expensive ones; they are where the hiring is. Honolulu (U.S. Pacific Fleet/Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Queen's Health Systems); San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Los Angeles (Walt Disney Company, Netflix). Depth of demand for hospitality work is what lifts pay above the local baseline, and it is why two equally costly cities can pay this role differently.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.