Chefs and Head Cooks salary in Kentucky
SOC 35-1011 · BLS OEWS May 2025
How local pay compares
After local prices: the $48,070 median has purchasing power comparable to about $53,317 nationally. Kentucky's BEA regional price parity is 90.2 (2024).
What the local range looks like
The wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the darker section is the middle half, and the tick is the median for Kentucky.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- 5 years or more
- On-the-job training
- None
Narrow to a metro in Kentucky
Every linked area below has a published estimate for chefs and head cooks. Missing areas were withheld by BLS rather than measured at zero.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clarksville, TN-KY | $60,880 | 90.9 | 100 | 0.75× |
| 2 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | $56,790 | 92.9 | 270 | 0.74× |
| 3 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $56,620 | 95.4 | 1,060 | 0.75× |
| 4 | Bowling Green, KY | $54,080 | 90.2 | 50 | 0.47× |
| 5 | Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | $53,240 | 88.4 | 80 | 0.42× |
| 6 | Owensboro, KY | $47,620 | 88.6 | 30 | 0.50× |
| 7 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $46,310 | 93.1 | 750 | 0.85× |
| 8 | Paducah, KY-IL | $44,720 | 86.1 | 40 | 0.66× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where chefs and head cooks wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Ready to look for an opening?
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