Chef Salary in South West
Official ONS earnings for South West, covering 17,000 jobs.
Median salary — South West
£24,183
gross, per year, all employees
▼ 1.8% change on the previous year
Mean
£24,466
Jobs measured
17,000
What a typical chef takes home
On the median of £24,183, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,744
Take-home a year
£20,931
Income Tax
£2,323
National Insurance
£929
What most chefs actually earn
Half of chefs in South West earn between £17,526 and £32,240. Earning above £32,240 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 West.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of chefs earn less than this.
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
ONS publishes a sampling error of 11.8% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank South West against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
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 West?
The median is £24,183 a year and the mean is £24,466, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
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, so there is no separate rate for South West.
What is a good Chef salary?
Half of chefs earn between £17,526 and £32,240. Anything above £32,240 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 £12,160 and the lowest quarter under £17,526 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Do chefs in South West earn more than the UK average?
The median in South West is £24,183 against £26,531 across the UK, 8.9% lower. ONS marks the South West figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
Has chef pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at -1.8% for this occupation in South West. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many chefs are there in South West?
ASHE counts around 17,000 employee jobs in “Chefs” (SOC 5434) in South West. 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