Chef Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 152,000 jobs.
Median salary
£26,531
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 13.1% below the £30,010 median for people working full-time.
▲ 3.7% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£30,010
Part-time only
£13,743
Mean
£26,301
Jobs measured
152,000
What a typical chef takes home
On the full-time median of £30,010, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,094
Take-home a year
£25,127
Income Tax
£3,488
National Insurance
£1,395
What most chefs actually earn
Half of chefs earn between £17,587 and £33,245. Earning above £33,245 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of chefs earn less than this.
Chef salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £30,928 | £30,989 |
| North East | £27,236 | £25,614 |
| South East | £27,113 | £26,461 |
| Scotland | £26,967 | £26,884 |
| North West | £26,000 | £25,187 |
| Wales | £25,625 | £24,731 |
| West Midlands | £25,542 | £26,163 |
| South West | £24,183 | £24,466 |
| East | £24,083 | £24,909 |
| East Midlands | £23,315 | £22,661 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £23,042 | £23,128 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Chefs
- SOC 2020 code
- 5434
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Chef salary FAQs
What is the average Chef salary in the UK?
The median is £26,531 a year and the mean is £26,301, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £30,010 and part-time employees £13,743.
How much does a chef earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £14.00 excluding overtime, or £14.67 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Chef salary?
Half of chefs earn between £17,587 and £33,245. Anything above £33,245 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a chef?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of chefs earn under £11,698 and the lowest quarter under £17,587 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid chefs earn?
The top 10% of chefs earn more than £40,597 a year, and the top quarter more than £33,245. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays chefs the most?
London, at a median of £30,928, is the highest of the 3 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; North West is the lowest at £26,000. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has chef pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +3.7% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many chefs are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 152,000 employee jobs in “Chefs” (SOC 5434) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
Similar roles
Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.
Add your salary anonymously