Chefs and Head Cooks · SOC 35-1011
Chef and Head Cook Salary in the Colorado
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Colorado
Figures describe the state of Colorado as a whole.
Chefs and Head Cooks in the Colorado earned a median of $65,400 per year ($31.44 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $46,330 at the 10th percentile to $93,270 at the 90th. BLS estimates 3,970 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Chefs and Head Cooks in the Colorado earn more than $65,400 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $58,220 and $79,420.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $46,330 | $58,220 | $65,400 | $79,420 | $93,270 |
| Hourly | $22.28 | $27.99 | $31.44 | $38.18 | $44.84 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Colorado$65,400 median for Colorado; middle half earns $58,220 to $79,420
- United Statesnational$62,470 median for United States; middle half earns $48,440 to $78,750
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is +5% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in Colorado
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for chefs and head cooks, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Coloradothis page$65,400 median for Colorado; middle half earns $58,220 to $79,420
- $66,970 median for Denver metro area; middle half earns $59,480 to $80,920
- $62,730 median for Greeley metro area; middle half earns $55,640 to $75,660
- $61,810 median for Grand Junction metro area; middle half earns $58,070 to $74,980
- $61,740 median for Boulder metro area; middle half earns $44,720 to $74,840
- $61,090 median for Fort Collins metro area; middle half earns $52,620 to $72,820
- $60,710 median for Pueblo metro area; middle half earns $48,190 to $68,530
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for chef and head cooks · Highest-paying occupations in Colorado
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.