Chefs and Head Cooks · SOC 35-1011
Chef and Head Cook Salary in the North Carolina
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025North Carolina
Figures describe the state of North Carolina as a whole.
Chefs and Head Cooks in the North Carolina earned a median of $61,130 per year ($29.39 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $38,210 at the 10th percentile to $92,210 at the 90th. BLS estimates 4,920 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Chefs and Head Cooks in the North Carolina earn more than $61,130 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $48,360 and $76,330.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $38,210 | $48,360 | $61,130 | $76,330 | $92,210 |
| Hourly | $18.37 | $23.25 | $29.39 | $36.70 | $44.33 |
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
- North Carolina$61,130 median for North Carolina; middle half earns $48,360 to $76,330
- 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 −2% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in North Carolina
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.
- North Carolinathis page$61,130 median for North Carolina; middle half earns $48,360 to $76,330
- $66,090 median for Durham metro area; middle half earns $52,660 to $76,760
- $64,260 median for Charlotte metro area; middle half earns $58,020 to $77,950
- $62,260 median for Pinehurst metro area; middle half earns $49,870 to $73,130
- $61,190 median for Raleigh metro area; middle half earns $47,270 to $76,840
- $60,400 median for Greenville metro area; middle half earns $46,900 to $71,460
- $60,390 median for Asheville metro area; middle half earns $49,990 to $73,950
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 North Carolina
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.