Chefs & head cooks

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Total Workforce

435k

Average Age

39.5

Estimated Job Growth

9.62%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$34,559

Average Male Salary

$36,523

Average Female Salary

$27,536

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

Growth Projections

About

Chefs & head cooks are most often employed by the Restaurants & Food Services industry. The average yearly wage for Chefs & head cooks was $34,559 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Chefs & head cooks by wage are Athletes, coaches, umpires, & related workers, Proofreaders & copy markers, and Prepress technicians & workers.

Photo by Marjon Melissen

Service OccupationsFood Preparation & Serving Related Occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Chefs & head cooks and on wages and locations for those in the field. Restaurants & Food Services is the industry that employs the most Chefs & head cooks, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Chefs & head cooks, by average wage, is Travel arrangements & reservation services. Chefs & head cooks are paid most in Kalamazoo & Portage Cities Area PUMA, MI but are relatively concentrated in Sunset Park & Windsor Terrace PUMA, NY.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$34,559

AVERAGE SALARY

± $975

In 2017, Chefs & head cooks earned an average of $34,559, $17,506 less than than the average national salary of $52,065.

Athletes, coaches, umpires, & related workers make somewhat more than Chefs & head cooks while Proofreaders & copy markers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Chefs & head cooks as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.341

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Chefs & head cooks had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.341, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Chefs & head cooks (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

  1. Kalamazoo & Portage Cities Area PUMA, MI

  2. Las Vegas City (Southwest) PUMA, NV

  3. Thousand Oaks City PUMA, CA

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Chefs & head cooks.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Chefs & head cooks

  1. Sunset Park & Windsor Terrace PUMA, NY

  2. Flushing, Murray Hill & Whitestone PUMA, NY

  3. Orlando City (West Downtown) & Pine Hills (Southeast) PUMA, FL

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Chefs & head cooks.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Chefs & head cooks, by number of employees, are Restaurants & Food Services, Traveler accommodation, and Amusement & Recreation.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Chefs & head cooks, by average wage, are Travel arrangements & reservation services, Private households, and Specialty food stores.

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Industries by Share

435k

2017 Workforce

± 16,165

-1.36%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.31%

The number of people employed as Chefs & head cooks has been declining at a rate of -1.36%, from 440,804 people in 2016 to 434,817 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Chefs & head cooks employed by various industries. Restaurants & Food Services employs the largest share of Chefs & head cooks at  71.9%, followed by Traveler accommodation with 5.88% and Amusement & Recreation with 4.83%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Chefs & head cooks in the US. The average age of male Chefs & head cooks in the workforce is 39.4 and of female Chefs & head cooks is 39.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Chefs & head cooks is White.

Gender Composition

340k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 14,295

95k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 7,565

78.1% of Chefs & head cooks are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Chefs & head cooks.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Chefs & head cooks

  1. White

  2. Asian

  3. Black

58.3% of Chefs & head cooks are White, making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 17.7% of Chefs & head cooks, Asian is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Chefs & head cooks.

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Age by Gender

39.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.488

39.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.04

The median age of Chefs & head cooks is 39.5, and Male employees are generally 0.557 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Chefs & head cooks from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Chefs & head cooks is Business but a relatively high number of Chefs & head cooks hold a major in Personal & Culinary Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

  1. Business

  2. Personal & Culinary Services

  3. Education

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

  1. Personal & Culinary Services

  2. Philosophy and Religious Studies

  3. Natural Resources & Conservation

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Chefs & head cooks from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chefs & head cooks need many skills, but most especially Monitoring, Coordination, and Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Chefs & head cooks need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, and Management of Personnel Resources.

Radar Distribution

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Growth Projections

Projections on wages and job growth for Chefs & head cooks from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ten-year national workforce is projected to grow 7.4%, but Chefs & head cooks are expected to see a growth of 9.62% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow higher than the national average.

Job Growth

9.62%

ESTIMATED GROWTH

7.4%

NATIONAL AVERAGE

This line chart shows the 10-year projected employment growth (from 2016 to 2026) for Chefs & head cooks. This profession is expected to grow faster than 7.4%, the average rate of national job growth.

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