As of April 01, 2025, the average hourly pay of Assistant Chef in the United States is $25. While Salary.com is seeing that Assistant Chef salary in the US can go up to $31 or down to $19, but most earn between $22 and $28. Salary.com shows the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Assistant Chef in the United States.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $28 | $2 | $1 | $0 |
| Average | $25 | $2 | $0 | $0 |
| 25th Percentile | $22 | $2 | $0 | $0 |
As of April 01, 2025, Salary.com is seeing that an entry-level Assistant Chef with under 1 year experience makes about $49,787. With less than 2 years of experience, a mid-level Assistant Chef makes around $50,064. After 2-4 years, the Assistant Chef pay rises to about $50,990. Those senior Assistant Chef with 5-8 years of experience earn roughly $53,282, and those Assistant Chef having 8 years or more experience is expected to earn about $54,563 on average.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Assistant Chef | $49,787 |
| Intermediate Level Assistant Chef | $50,064 |
| Senior Level Assistant Chef | $50,990 |
| Specialist Level Assistant Chef | $53,282 |
| Expert Level Assistant Chef | $54,563 |
| Entry Level | 4% |
| Mid Level | 4% |
| Senior Level | 2% |
| Top Level | 2% |
| Experienced | 5% |
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from state to state due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Assistant Chef is $57,500 in California and in Massachusetts, the average annual salary goes to $56,700. While in New Jersey, an Assistant Chef earns $56,500 per year.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from city to city due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Assistant Chef in San Francisco, CA is $65,100 and in New York, NY, the average annual salary goes to $60,400. While an Assistant Chef earns $58,100 per year in Boston, MA.
For those exploring the changing dynamics of Assistant Chef salaries, Salary.com offers detailed insights through our Job Trending in CA Labor Market analysis. As of April 01, 2025, our research highlights a notable shift in Assistant Chef compensation over the past six years. For instance, the median salary has moved from $43,480 in 2023 to about $43,221 in 2024 (for a comprehensive analysis of Assistant Chef salary trends, click here). It's crucial to consider several elements, including geographical location, experience level, industry demand, and economic development, as they play a significant role in influencing salary variations.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Assistant Chef information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Assistant Chef job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Assistant Chef and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $52,100 | 67.8% | ||
| Bonus | $0 | 0.0% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $3,986 | 5.2% | ||
| 401K/403B | $2,188 | 2.8% | ||
| Disability | $1,042 | 1.4% | ||
| Healthcare | $8,352 | 10.9% | ||
| Pension | $2,813 | 3.7% | ||
| Time Off | $6,412 | 8.3% | ||
| Total Compensation | $76,894 | 100% | ||
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| No Diploma | 2.1% |
| High School | 23.5% |
| Associates | 53.8% |
| Bachelors | 19.9% |
| Masters | 0.6% |
What Am I Worth?
The Assistant Chef oversees the activities of the kitchen staff and monitors food production and presentation in the absence of the Executive Chef. Assists the Executive Chef in the daily operations of the kitchen, including menu development, inventory and purchasing of supplies, and cost control. Being an Assistant Chef coordinates and participates in the activities of hiring, training, and managing personnel in the kitchen. Requires an understanding of federal, state, and local food sanitation regulations. In addition, Assistant Chef may serve as an expeditor when needed. May require a bachelor's degree in area of specialty. Typically reports to an Executive Chef. The Assistant Chef supervises a small group of para-professional staff in an organization characterized by highly transactional or repetitive processes. Contributes to the development of processes and procedures. Thorough knowledge of functional area under supervision. Working as an Assistant Chef typically requires 3 years experience in the related area as an individual contributor.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Customer Service: Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. The perception of success of such interactions is dependent on employees "who can adjust themselves to the personality of the guest". Customer service concerns the priority an organization assigns to customer service relative to components such as product innovation and pricing. In this sense, an organization that values good customer service may spend more money in training employees than the average organization or may proactively interview customers for feedback. From the point of view of an overall sales process engineering effort, customer service plays an important role in an organization's ability to generate income and revenue. From that perspective, customer service should be included as part of an overall approach to systematic improvement. One good customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer holds towards the organization.
Culinary Arts: Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals
Purchasing: Purchasing refers to a business or organization attempting to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between organizations. Typically the word “purchasing” is not used interchangeably with the word “procurement”, since procurement typically includes expediting, supplier quality, and transportation and logistics (T&L) in addition to purchasing.
