Chefs and Head Cooks · SOC 35-1011
Chef and Head Cook Salary in the Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area
Figures describe the Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area, a BLS-defined region outside metropolitan areas — not a single city or town.
Chefs and Head Cooks in the Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area earned a median of $51,320 per year ($24.68 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $33,510 at the 10th percentile to $80,660 at the 90th. BLS estimates 190 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Chefs and Head Cooks in the Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area earn more than $51,320 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $38,530 and $67,430.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $33,510 | $38,530 | $51,320 | $67,430 | $80,660 |
| Hourly | $16.11 | $18.52 | $24.68 | $32.42 | $38.78 |
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
- Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area$51,320 median for Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area; middle half earns $38,530 to $67,430
- Pennsylvaniastate$63,860 median for Pennsylvania; middle half earns $49,280 to $81,790
- 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 −20% vs Pennsylvania overall and −18% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Other metro areas in Pennsylvania
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.
- Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan areathis page$51,320 median for Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area; middle half earns $38,530 to $67,430
- $66,980 median for Reading metro area; middle half earns $51,520 to $85,080
- $66,320 median for Pittsburgh metro area; middle half earns $53,020 to $80,400
- $65,680 median for Philadelphia metro area; middle half earns $55,830 to $88,140
- $63,220 median for Allentown metro area; middle half earns $47,620 to $80,580
- $60,750 median for Scranton metro area; middle half earns $44,210 to $81,990
- $59,950 median for Chambersburg metro area; middle half earns $42,600 to $74,330
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 Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area
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.