Average Chefs And Head Cooks Salary in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
Chefs And Head Cooks in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA earn a median annual salary of $64,560, which is +5.9% compared to the national median. There are 150 workers employed locally in this occupation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates for Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA (metro area).
Pay distribution
Local wage range
- 10th
- $43,470
- 25th
- $52,250
- Median
- $64,560
- 75th
- $75,180
- 90th
- $93,290
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
This local range is the useful part of the page. The median tells you the center of the market in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA, while the percentile band shows how compressed or wide the local pay distribution actually is.
Regional price parity
Cost-of-living context
Services: 152.7%
Rents: 164.3%
Comparison links
Comparable metros for this occupation
| Metro | Median annual wage | Compare | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $87,410 | Compare | 160 |
| Morgantown, WV | $87,280 | Compare | 60 |
| Terre Haute, IN | $83,880 | Compare | 50 |
| Alexandria, LA | $80,290 | Compare | 50 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $78,390 | Compare | 1,020 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $78,050 | Compare | 1,180 |
The point of this table is not random nearby places. It is to show the other labor markets where this same occupation looks stronger or weaker on the same OEWS release.
Area context
Top occupations in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
| Occupation | Median annual wage | LQ |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executives | $214,680 | 1.66 |
| Dentists, General | $202,520 | N/A |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | $195,970 | 0.53 |
| Lawyers | $192,800 | 0.42 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $191,880 | 0.90 |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $190,590 | 0.66 |
| Registered Nurses | $178,900 | 0.77 |
| Architectural And Engineering Managers | $174,700 | 0.65 |
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA has salary data for 330 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Chief Executives.
Historical series
Trend for Chefs And Head Cooks in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
Historical trend data is not yet available for this occupation in this area.
Interpretation
Outlook and page notes
Nationally, Chefs And Head Cooks are projected to change by +7.1% from 2024 to 2034, with 24,400 annual openings.
Use this page to answer three separate questions: what the occupation pays here, how large the local market is, and whether this market is unusually concentrated for the occupation.
For metro pages in particular, read long-term trend rows as directional until the area comparability layer is fully wired. OEWS area definitions can change over time, and that matters more at the metro level than at the state level.