What Chefs and Head Cooks earn in Kings County, NY
According to the latest federal wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the median pay for Chefs and Head Cooks in Kings County, NY is $71,780 a year, or $34.51 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $55,705 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Kings County, NY.
The mean wage is $74,840, which is 4.3% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 20,010 people working in this occupation across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Kings County, NY has roughly 2,631,580 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Chefs and Head Cooks in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $46,530 a year ($22.37 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $120,370 or more ($57.87 an hour). That is a gap of $73,840 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $55,070 at the 25th percentile and $89,860 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $34.51 an hour or $71,780 a year at the median for Kings County, NY. Before any deductions, that is $5,982 a month, $2,761 every two weeks and $1,380 each week. After taxes the same job pays $26.78 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Kings County, NY compares
Compared with the New York average
Pay for Chefs and Head Cooks in Kings County, NY is in line with the statewide figure: $71,780 locally against an employment-weighted New York average of $71,542, a difference of only $238 (0.3%). Within New York, Kings County, NY already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Chefs and Head Cooks is $63,566 across the contiguous United States. At $71,780, Kings County, NY pays $8,214 more, which is 12.9% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Kings County, NY
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Kings County, NY, Chefs and Head Cooks ranks number 352 by median pay, ahead of about 48% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $335,270 a year, which is $263,490 more than the median for Chefs and Head Cooks.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Chefs and Head Cooks earning the Kings County, NY median of $71,780, they add up to $16,075. The result is $55,705 of take-home pay a year ($4,642 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $22 goes to taxes and $78 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 22.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $56,030. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $7,241, an effective 10.1% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $4,450 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,041. FICA totals $5,491, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in New York
New York income tax on this salary is $3,343 a year, or 4.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 46% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $279 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Kings County, NY
IRS Statistics of Income data for Kings County, NY show an average adjusted gross income of $85,914 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.4% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.7%, compared with the 10.1% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Kings County, NY
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Kings County, NY: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $55,705 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Kings County, NY, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,729 a month ($32,748 a year), and at $2,971 for two bedrooms. For Chefs and Head Cooks, a one-bedroom absorbs 58.8% of take-home pay and 45.6% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.8% of gross pay for Chefs and Head Cooks in Kings County, NY. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using New York residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,581 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $653, for $3,235 in total. Gasoline in New York averages $3.17 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,467.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $40,885 a year in Kings County, NY. Subtract that from $55,705 of take-home pay and $14,820 remains, which is $1,235 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 20.6% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Chefs and Head Cooks afford to live in Kings County, NY?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $71,780 that ceiling is $1,795 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,729 is $935 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $52.48 an hour; the median for Chefs and Head Cooks is $34.51, which is 34% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $26.78 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 23.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,971 a month means $1,486 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $14,922 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $29,742.
How fast you can save
At $1,235 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 9 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 18 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Chefs and Head Cooks pay in Kings County, NY
How much do Chefs and Head Cooks make per hour in Kings County, NY?
The median is $34.51 per hour, based on $71,780 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $22.37 at the 10th percentile to $57.87 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Chefs and Head Cooks take home after taxes in Kings County, NY?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $71,780 becomes $55,705 a year. That is $4,642 a month, $2,143 every two weeks or $1,071 a week.
How much tax do Chefs and Head Cooks pay in Kings County, NY?
Total taxes are $16,075 a year, an effective rate of 22.4%: $7,241 federal income tax, $5,491 FICA and $3,343 New York income tax.
Do Chefs and Head Cooks earn more in Kings County, NY than elsewhere in New York?
It is about the same. The local median of $71,780 is within 0.3% of the New York average of $71,542.
Can Chefs and Head Cooks afford a one-bedroom apartment in Kings County, NY?
A one-bedroom costs $2,729 a month against take-home pay of $4,642, which is 58.8% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,795 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Chefs and Head Cooks in Kings County, NY?
About $1,235 a month ($14,820 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $40,885 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Kings County, NY at the 30% guideline?
$52.48 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $32,748 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Chefs and Head Cooks is $34.51.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the New York rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.