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UK salary report · 2026

Chef Salary in Wales

Official ONS earnings for Wales.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Where this comes from →

Median salary — Wales

£25,625

gross, per year

Mean

£24,731

What most chefs actually earn

Half of chefs in Wales earn between £16,279 and £30,042. Earning above £30,042 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 Wales.

The full pay range

Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of chefs earn less than this.

20th
£14,769
25th
£16,279
30th
£17,691
40th
£19,642
50th
£22,645
60th
£25,989
70th
£28,326
75th
£30,042
Check where your salary sits

How Wales ranks for chef pay

6th

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. Wales is £5,303 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 Wales?

The median is £25,625 a year and the mean is £24,731, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

What is a good Chef salary?

Half of chefs earn between £16,279 and £30,042. Anything above £30,042 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.

Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.

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