How much do chefs make?
In the US, the median pay for chefs and head cooks was $62,470 a year ($30.03 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the UK, the National Careers Service gives about £22,000 for starters and £40,000 for experienced chefs. Figures for Türkiye follow below.
Chef salary in the US and UK
| Role | Pay | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Chefs and head cooks, US | $62,470 a year (median) | BLS, May 2025 |
| In hotels and other traveller accommodation | $74,380 | BLS, May 2025 |
| In restaurants and drinking places | $60,580 | BLS, May 2025 |
| In healthcare and social assistance | $59,550 | BLS, May 2025 |
| All cooks, US | $36,640 a year (median) | BLS, May 2025 |
| Restaurant cooks, US | $17.98 an hour (median) | BLS, May 2025 |
| Private household cooks, US | $23.05 an hour (median) | BLS, May 2025 |
| Starter chef, UK | About £22,000 a year | National Careers Service |
| Experienced chef, UK | About £40,000 a year | National Careers Service |
Chefs in US hotels earn about 23% more at the median than chefs in restaurants. Private household cooks earn about 28% more an hour than restaurant cooks, though BLS does not separate out high-end private chefs. BLS projects 7% employment growth for chefs and head cooks from 2025 to 2035.
Chef salary in Türkiye
Monthly averages in Turkish lira, 2026, read in November 2026:
| Role | Kariyer.net | Yenibiris | eleman.net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant cook | 33,000 | — | 47,100 |
| Commis | 41,024 | 44,153 | 40,000 |
| Waiter | 44,363 | 46,534 | 47,900 |
| Pastry cook | 55,360 | 55,411 | 37,200 |
| Chef de partie | 64,234 | 67,635 | — |
| Cook | 67,100 | 62,079 | 52,000 |
| Sous chef | 93,000 | — | — |
| Chef de cuisine | — | 103,306 | — |
| Head cook (aşçıbaşı) | 119,600 | — | 74,700 |
| Executive chef | 119,585 | — | — |
The 2026 net minimum wage in Türkiye is 28,075.50 TL a month, so a cook averages about 1.9–2.4 times the minimum wage, a sous chef about 3.3 times and an executive chef about 4.3 times by our calculation.
These are not wages paid. Kariyer.net, the largest sample here at 22,827 users for cooks, states that its figures are the net salary expectations candidates shared when applying over the last three months. Read them as ranges rather than exact pay.
Pay by experience
Kariyer.net's data for cooks in Türkiye, monthly lira:
| Experience | Low | Average | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–1 years | 42,800 | 53,500 | 160,000 |
| 1–3 years | 44,300 | 55,300 | 140,000 |
| 4–6 years | 48,100 | 60,100 | 150,000 |
| 7–9 years | 52,400 | 65,500 | 150,000 |
| 10–14 years | 58,100 | 72,700 | 160,000 |
| 15+ years | 68,100 | 85,100 | 230,000 |
More than 15 years of experience adds about 59% to the first-year average. A change of title matters more: moving from cook to sous chef is about 39% more, and to head cook about 78% more. For how people reach those levels, see how to become a chef.
How to read these numbers
- Expectation is not pay. On the same page, Kariyer.net also shows 39,900 TL for cooks in a separate group of 2,196 people, without explaining the gap.
- Titles are not standard. A head cook at a small restaurant does a different job from an executive chef at a large hotel.
- Official data lags. Türkiye's statistics office puts accommodation and food service lowest among sectors in 2023, at 213,518 TL gross a year against a national 305,784 TL. It has no breakdown by role and does not reflect inflation since then.
- What we left out. We excluded blog estimates with no stated method and very small samples. We also excluded an Indeed figure of 16,165 TL a month for waiters, which sits below the minimum wage.
- Do not compare directly. US and UK figures are gross and annual; the Türkiye figures are monthly and, on Kariyer.net, net.
What changes a chef's pay?
- 1Title and responsibility: the largest factor in the tables above.
- 2Type of employer: hotels pay more than restaurants at the US median.
- 3Benefits: housing and meals on seasonal or yacht contracts change total earnings, so do not compare offers on salary alone.
- 4Service charges: in Türkiye, mandatory service charges have been banned since 30 January 2026, which changes income for staff who shared in them. Tips remain voluntary.
Five questions to ask about an offer
- 1Is the figure gross or net, and is that in writing?
- 2Is all of the pay shown on the payslip?
- 3What are the weekly hours, overtime and leave?
- 4Are housing, meals or transport included?
- 5What does promotion to the next level require?
For employers
Pay only makes sense as a share of sales, so look at prime cost. Written career steps can do more for retention than pay alone: see kitchen talent retention and our kitchen team training.
