Entry Level Chef Salary in the United States

How much does an Entry Level Chef make in the United States?

As of April 01, 2026, the average salary for an Entry Level Chef in the United States is $51,219 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $25.

However, an Entry Level Chef's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $73,706
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $42,367 to $62,990
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $34,307
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View as table View as graph 25% $42,367 10% $34,307 90% $73,706 75% $62,990 $51,219 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Entry Level Chef Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary		 Monthly
Pay		 Weekly
Pay		 Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $62,990 $5,249 $1,211 $30
Average $51,219 $4,268 $985 $25
25th Percentile $42,367 $3,531 $815 $20
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Key Factors That Influence Entry Level Chef Salaries

An Entry Level Chef's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how geographic location and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

Top Paying Cities for Entry Level Cheves

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $64,603
  • San Francisco: $63,968
  • Oakland: $62,549

What Skills Can Increase an Entry Level Chef's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Customer Service (Mentioned in 1.88% Job Postings): Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. The perception of success of such interactions is dependent on employees "who can adjust themselves to the personality of the guest". Customer service concerns the priority an organization assigns to customer service relative to components such as product innovation and pricing. In this sense, an organization that values good customer service may spend more money in training employees than the average organization or may proactively interview customers for feedback. From the point of view of an overall sales process engineering effort, customer service plays an important role in an organization's ability to generate income and revenue. From that perspective, customer service should be included as part of an overall approach to systematic improvement. One good customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer holds towards the organization.
  • Square (Mentioned in 0.73% Job Postings): Square in geometry, a plane figure with four equal sides and four right (90°) angles. A square is a special kind of rectangle and a special kind of parallelogram.
  • Carpentry (Mentioned in 0.21% Job Postings): Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters traditionally worked with natural wood and did the rougher work such as framing, but today many other materials are also used and sometimes the finer trades of cabinetmaking and furniture building are considered carpentry. In the United States, 98.5% of carpenters are male, and it was the fourth most male-dominated occupation in the country in 1999. In 2006 in the United States, there were about 1.5 million carpentry positions. Carpenters are usually the first tradesmen on a job and the last to leave. Carpenters normally framed post-and-beam buildings until the end of the 19th century; now this old fashioned carpentry is called timber framing. Carpenters learn this trade by being employed through an apprenticeship training—normally 4 years—and qualify by successfully completing that country's competence test in places such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa. It is also common that the skill can be learned by gaining work experience other than a formal training program, which may be the case in many places.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Customer Service 1.88%
Square 0.73%
Carpentry 0.21%

Entry Level Chef Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how an Entry Level Chef's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

  • Hourly
  • Monthly
  • Weekly
  • Yearly
  • Table View
Last Updated on April 01, 2026
$42,367
Average $51,219/year
$62,990
$3,531
Average $4,268/month
$5,249
$815
Average $985/week
$1,211
$20
Average $25/hour
$30
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $62,990 $5,249 $1,211 $30
Average $51,219 $4,268 $985 $25
25th Percentile $42,367 $3,531 $815 $20

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Most common benefits for Entry Level Chef

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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

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