The annual salary statistics of chefs and head cooks in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California is shown in Table 1. The wage data of chefs and head cooks in Santa Cruz-Watsonville is based on the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $38,460 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $44,370 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $57,800 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $76,020 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $89,100 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for chefs and head cooks in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is $89,100. The median (50th percentile) annual salary is $57,800. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent earners is $38,460.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of chefs and head cooks from 2012 to 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 10-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $57,800 | 13.36% | 23.65% |
| 2021 | $50,080 | -7.97% | - |
| 2020 | $54,070 | 27.69% | - |
| 2019 | $39,100 | -79.92% | - |
| 2018 | $70,350 | 35.95% | - |
| 2017 | $45,060 | 12.27% | - |
| 2016 | $39,530 | 9.89% | - |
| 2015 | $35,620 | 0.84% | - |
| 2014 | $35,320 | -4.50% | - |
| 2013 | $36,910 | -19.56% | - |
| 2012 | $44,130 | - | - |
From Table 3 we note that the median annual salary of $57,800 in Santa Cruz-Watsonville is in the middle of salary range for chefs and head cooks in state of California. In comparison, the annual salary of chefs and head cooks in Santa Cruz-Watsonville is 23.3 percent (23.3%) lower than that in the highest paying Merced and 44.2 percent (44.2%) higher than that in the lowest paying Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area.