Chefs and Head Cooks · SOC 35-1011
Chef and Head Cook Salary in the South Carolina
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025South Carolina
Figures describe the state of South Carolina as a whole.
Chefs and Head Cooks in the South Carolina earned a median of $71,860 per year ($34.55 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $47,640 at the 10th percentile to $88,880 at the 90th. BLS estimates 2,650 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Chefs and Head Cooks in the South Carolina earn more than $71,860 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $60,120 and $79,050.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $47,640 | $60,120 | $71,860 | $79,050 | $88,880 |
| Hourly | $22.90 | $28.90 | $34.55 | $38.01 | $42.73 |
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
- South Carolina$71,860 median for South Carolina; middle half earns $60,120 to $79,050
- 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 +15% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in South 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.
- South Carolinathis page$71,860 median for South Carolina; middle half earns $60,120 to $79,050
- $74,210 median for Charleston metro area; middle half earns $60,290 to $80,430
- $73,690 median for Hilton Head Island metro area; middle half earns $64,450 to $85,910
- $72,670 median for Spartanburg metro area; middle half earns $61,080 to $77,900
- $71,700 median for Myrtle Beach metro area; middle half earns $58,500 to $77,020
- $69,820 median for Columbia metro area; middle half earns $55,120 to $79,250
- $69,680 median for Greenville metro area; middle half earns $56,870 to $74,490
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 South 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.