Chefs and Head Cooks Salary in Reading, PA

Chefs and Head Cooks pay range in Reading

New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $41,420 a year or less, while the top 10% make $108,220 or more. The middle half of chefs and head cooks in Reading earn between $51,520 and $85,080.

*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.

Chefs and Head Cooks salary after taxes in Reading

On the average salary of $70,150, a single filer in Reading takes home about $56,027 a year, or $4,669 a month and $2,155 every two weeks. Taxes take 20% of gross pay.

Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules). Local earned income taxes (for example Philadelphia's wage tax) are not included.

Is Reading a good place for chefs and head cooks? Pay vs. cost of living

Prices in the Reading area are 3% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 97.1), so the average $70,150 buys what about $72,275 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 1.4 times the median wage of all jobs in Reading ($49,440). A typical home costs $312,348, or 4.5 years of this average salary before tax.

See what $70,150 is worth in another city

Chefs and Head Cooks salary in other Pennsylvania cities

Reading ranks 2nd of 16 Pennsylvania metro areas for this job; Philadelphia pays the most ($71,310).

All Chefs and Head Cooks salaries in Pennsylvania

Highest-paying cities for chefs and head cooks

Kahului, HI pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($91,380).

Chefs and Head Cooks salary by city

Related jobs in Reading

• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$42,340 a year
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$37,040 a year
• Cooks, All Other$36,940 a year
• Waiters and Waitresses$36,110 a year
• Bartenders$35,110 a year
• Cooks, Restaurant$34,570 a year
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant$33,240 a year
• Food Preparation Workers$32,410 a year

Average salary in Reading and every job