Chef Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 152,000 jobs.
Median salary
£26,531
gross, per year
▲ 3.7% change on the previous year
Mean
£26,301
Jobs measured
152,000
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 UK?
The median is £26,531 a year and the mean is £26,301, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
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.
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, covering 152,000 jobs in this occupation.
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