Chef Salary in South East
Official ONS earnings for South East, covering 24,000 jobs.
Median salary — South East
£27,113
gross, per year
▲ 6.3% change on the previous year
Mean
£26,461
Jobs measured
24,000
What most chefs actually earn
Half of chefs in South East earn between £15,991 and £31,822. Earning above £31,822 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Food Preparation and Hospitality Trades” group in South East.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of chefs earn less than this.
How South East ranks for chef pay
3rd
of 11 GB regions with a published figure
London tops the table on £30,928 and Yorkshire and The Humber sits at the bottom on £23,042. South East is £3,815 short of the top.
Ranking compares published regional medians for the same occupation. It says nothing about cost of living — a higher median doesn't survive contact with rent. The cost of living calculator is the honest next step.
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 South East?
The median is £27,113 a year and the mean is £26,461, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is a good Chef salary?
Half of chefs earn between £15,991 and £31,822. Anything above £31,822 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 24,000 jobs in this occupation.
Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.
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