Chefs and Head Cooks in New York

Get the information you need to know about working as a Chef or Head Cook.

You’re in luck! Jobs for Chefs and Head Cooks in New York are projected to grow and these jobs tend to pay higher than average.

• Projected employment for Chefs and Head Cooks in New York is growing faster than average.

• Chefs and Head Cooks in New York earn higher salaries than the typical U.S. wage earner.

What Major Will Prepare You For a Chef or Head Cook Career?

• Personal & Culinary Services
• Culinary Arts
• General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts
• Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef
• Culinary Arts/Chef Training
• Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager
• Culinary Science/Culinology

How Many Chefs and Head Cooks Work in New York?

15,500 people worked as Chefs and Head Cooks in 2018 in this state.

There were 16,890 Chefs and Head Cooks employed in this state in 2017.

That’s a decline of 1,390 jobs between 2017 and 2018.

The typical state has 1,325 Chefs and Head Cooks working in it, which means New York has more Chefs and Head Cooks than average.

Job Projections for New York

Jobs for Chefs and Head Cooks in this state are growing at a rate of 19.0% which is faster than the nationwide estimated projection of 9.6%.

New York Annual Job Openings

The BLS estimates there will be 2,440 annual job openings, and 18,820 total jobs in 2026 for Chefs and Head Cooks in this state.

Nationwide, the prediction is 20,300 annual jobs and 160,600 total jobs in 2026.

What do Chefs and Head Cooks Make in New York?

In 2018 wages for Chefs and Head Cooks ranged from $21,650 to $91,340 with $52,010 being the median annual salary.

Broken down to an hourly rate, workers in this field made anywhere from $10.41 to $43.91. The median hourly rate was $25.

In 2017 the median pay for this field was $20.82 an hour.

The hourly rate grew by $4.18.

The median salary in New York is higher than the nationwide median salary.

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Top New York Metros for Chefs and Head Cooks

The table below shows some of the metros in this state with the most Chefs and Head Cooks.

Metro	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	14,310	$55,480
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY	510	$49,690
Rochester, NY	470	$54,550
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	450	$47,670
Syracuse, NY	390	$41,620
Glens Falls, NY	150	$44,550
Kingston, NY	120	$51,200
Binghamton, NY	120	$27,260
Utica-Rome, NY	90	$57,640
Ithaca, NY	50	$60,270

Top States for Chefs and Head Cooks Employment

View the list below to see where most Chefs and Head Cooks work.

State	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
California	19,420	$46,360
New York	15,500	$52,010
Florida	11,150	$48,710
Texas	6,020	$50,580
Massachusetts	4,830	$56,070
Illinois	4,770	$49,070
Ohio	4,370	$40,270
South Carolina	3,630	$38,460
Arizona	3,580	$38,430
Nevada	3,450	$52,930
Pennsylvania	3,100	$57,500
Virginia	2,790	$53,000
Connecticut	2,640	$53,730
New Jersey	2,640	$66,790
North Carolina	2,460	$47,070
Maryland	2,290	$49,390
Wisconsin	2,240	$40,480
Michigan	2,160	$48,320
Georgia	2,060	$51,330
Tennessee	1,960	$45,890

Below are the states where Chefs and Head Cooks get paid the most:

State	Annual Median Salary
New Jersey	$66,790
Hawaii	$63,810
District of Columbia	$63,150
West Virginia	$58,570
Pennsylvania	$57,500
Delaware	$57,340
Washington	$56,450
Wyoming	$56,150
Massachusetts	$56,070
Connecticut	$53,730

Related Careers in New York

You may also be interested in the following careers:

Occupation	New York Employment Total
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	47,640

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By U.S. Army Europe Images under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.