Chefs and Head Cooks in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,941
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$11,869
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,629
Tennessee costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Tennessee — 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
$69,810
Kept after tax
$57,941
Worth in national money
$62,629
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Tennessee pays chefs and head cooks a middle wage of $69,810, ranking 10 of 51 states and sitting about 11.75% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Tennessee reports figures for, this is number 142.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $69,810 you keep $57,941 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $62,629 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $70,710, since top earners drag the number up.
- Tennessee's median for chefs and head cooks is $69,810, about 11.75% above the national figure and 10 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Tennessee's occupational distribution, chefs and head cooks sits at 142 of 491 — 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 Tennessee is $57,941 after the full tax stack, from $69,810. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $62,629 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $70,710 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Chefs and Head Cooks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $69,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,860 |
| This salary | $69,810 |
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 Tennessee | $57,941 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $57,941 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,003 |
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 | $69,810 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,149 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
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 Tennessee earn under $69,810 and half over. The published range runs $45,410 at the tenth percentile to $98,860 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $57,941 take-home in Tennessee comes from $69,810. 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 142 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $62,629 uses one figure for the whole of Tennessee. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 142.
- Figures are distribution medians for chefs and head cooks in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,410 to $98,860; 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 $57,941, from $69,810, assumes a single Tennessee 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 142 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 10 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $62,629, worked from $69,810, 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 Tennessee address, on work sitting at 142 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $45,410 at the bottom tenth to $98,860 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 $62,629.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $57,941 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($45,410) and the ninetieth ($98,860) 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?
Tennessee'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 $62,629 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Tennessee levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $57,941 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.