Chefs and Head Cooks in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,815
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$7,755
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,803
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$45,570
Kept after tax
$37,815
Worth in national money
$42,803
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for chefs and head cooks. The middle earner takes $45,570, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 27.05% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Chefs and head cooks ranks 317 among 484 occupations Louisiana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,570 you keep $37,815, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,803 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $52,820, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana ranks 51 of 51 for chefs and head cooks, with a median of $45,570 — about 27.05% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 317 of 484 in Louisiana places chefs and head cooks in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for chefs and head cooks on $45,570 is $37,815. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,803 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $52,820 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Chefs and Head Cooks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,750 |
| This salary | $45,570 |
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 Louisiana | $37,815 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,795 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,880 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $44,349 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,483 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Louisiana earn less than $45,570. The published range is $32,320 up to $86,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $37,815 take-home in Louisiana comes from $45,570. 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 317 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,803 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 317.
- Reported values are medians; for chefs and head cooks in Louisiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,320 to $86,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $37,815, from $45,570, assumes a single Louisiana 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 317 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 51 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,803, worked from $45,570, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 317 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $52,820, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $32,320 and the top tenth $86,750 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Louisiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $42,803 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Louisiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,815 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Louisiana is $52,820. 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 ($32,320) and the ninetieth ($86,750) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $42,803 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $37,815 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.