Chefs and Head Cooks pay range in Austin
New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $42,740 a year or less, while the top 10% make $93,290 or more. The middle half of chefs and head cooks in Austin earn between $52,050 and $80,730.
- $43K10th
- $52K25th
- $62KMedian
- $81K75th
- $93K90th
median average · bar = middle 50% of workers
| Pay level | Per year | Per month | Per hour* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | $68,120 | $5,677 | $32.75 |
| Median | $62,400 | $5,200 | $30.00 |
| Entry level (25th percentile) | $52,050 | $4,338 | $25.02 |
| Experienced (75th percentile) | $80,730 | $6,728 | $38.81 |
*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.
Chefs and Head Cooks salary after taxes in Austin
On the average salary of $68,120, a single filer in Austin takes home about $56,752 a year, or $4,729 a month and $2,183 every two weeks. Taxes take 17% of gross pay.
Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and no state income tax.
Is Austin a good place for chefs and head cooks? Pay vs. cost of living
Prices in the Austin area are 2% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 98.1), so the average $68,120 buys what about $69,463 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 1.1 times the median wage of all jobs in Austin ($56,950). A typical home costs $428,524, or 6.3 years of this average salary before tax.
Chefs and Head Cooks salary in other Texas cities
Austin ranks 1st of 23 Texas metro areas for this job, the best-paid in the state.
- Austin$68,120
- Dallas$66,880
- Midland$60,410
- Beaumont$60,090
- Lubbock$58,230
- Odessa$56,640
- College Station$56,540
- San Antonio$56,170
- Houston$54,810
- Killeen$53,770
Highest-paying cities for chefs and head cooks
Kahului, HI pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($91,380).
- Kahului, HI$91,380
- Napa, CA$83,750
- San Jose, CA$80,150
- Albany, NY$79,500
- Providence, RI$79,440
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Chefs and Head Cooks salary in Austin: questions
How much do chefs and head cooks make an hour in Austin?
$32.75 an hour on average, and $30.00 at the median (BLS, May 2025).
What is the entry-level chefs and head cooks salary in Austin?
The lowest-paid 10% earn about $42,740 a year and the 25th percentile is $52,050, a fair guide to starting pay.
What is the chefs and head cooks take-home pay in Austin?
About $56,752 a year ($4,729 a month) for a single filer on the average salary of $68,120. Texas has no state income tax.
Do chefs and head cooks earn more in Austin than elsewhere?
The average here is about the same as the U.S. metro average for this job ($67,002).
Sources and how to read this page
- Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates for metropolitan areas. SOC code 35-1011; area Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX (12420). Relative standard error of the mean wage: 4.3%.
- Cost of living: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (RPP), 2024; 100 = U.S. average.
- Home value: Zillow Home Value Index. Typical-wage figure: OEWS all occupations, same metro.
- Take-home pay: Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and no state income tax.
- Job concentration: location quotient 1.03, this job is about as common as in the U.S. overall.
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