Chefs and Head Cooks in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,066
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$13,244
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,249
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$64,310
Kept after tax
$51,066
Worth in national money
$49,249
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for chefs and head cooks is strong here. Connecticut's middle earner gets $64,310, putting the state 17 of 51 — about 2.95% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Connecticut reports figures for, this is number 245.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $64,310 the take-home is $51,066. But Connecticut costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $49,249 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $69,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For chefs and head cooks, Connecticut sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $64,310, ranking 17 of 51 and running about 2.95% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Connecticut's occupational distribution, chefs and head cooks sits at 245 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Connecticut income tax is $51,066 for chefs and head cooks, from $64,310. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $49,249. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $69,680 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chefs and Head Cooks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,870 |
| This salary | $64,310 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Connecticut | $51,066 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,853 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,169 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $60,841 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,461 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of chefs and head cooks in Connecticut earn under $64,310 and half over. The published range runs $44,530 at the tenth percentile to $99,870 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $51,066 take-home in Connecticut comes from $64,310. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 245 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,249 uses one figure for the whole of Connecticut. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 245.
- Figures are distribution medians for chefs and head cooks in Connecticut, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,530 to $99,870; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $51,066, from $64,310, assumes a single Connecticut filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 245 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 17 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,249, worked from $64,310, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Connecticut address, on work sitting at 245 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $69,680 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $44,530 at the bottom tenth to $99,870 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Connecticut run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $49,249 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Connecticut's own levy, $51,066 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Connecticut is $69,680. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($44,530) and the ninetieth ($99,870) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $49,249 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $51,066 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.