Chefs and Head Cooks in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,368
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,762
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,441
North Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Carolina — 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
$61,130
Kept after tax
$49,368
Worth in national money
$52,441
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Carolina is 29 of 51 states for chefs and head cooks, with a middle wage of $61,130. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 196.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $61,130 you keep $49,368 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,441 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $63,960, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina ranks 29 of 51 for chefs and head cooks at $61,130. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, chefs and head cooks sits at 196 of 489 — 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 in North Carolina is $49,368 after the full tax stack, from $61,130. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,441 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $63,960 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $38,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $92,210 |
| This salary | $61,130 |
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 North Carolina | $49,368 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,298 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$348 |
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 | $58,728 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$421 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $61,130 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,210 and the ninetieth is $92,210 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $49,368 take-home in North Carolina comes from $61,130. 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 196 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $52,441, the adjusted value of that $61,130 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 196 of 489 in the state.
- The North Carolina median of $61,130 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,210 to $92,210. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $49,368, from $61,130, assumes a single North Carolina 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 196 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $52,441 — the adjusted value of that $61,130 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 196 of 489 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 $63,960 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 $38,210 at the bottom tenth to $92,210 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $52,441.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $49,368.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 North Carolina is $63,960. 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 ($38,210) and the ninetieth ($92,210) 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?
North Carolina'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 $52,441 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 $49,368 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Carolina 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.