Chef Salary in Nashville, TN: Median $35,013 in 2026
Nashville (TN) · COL index 112 · Unemployment 2.9% · Metro pop 2,020,000 · Rank #69 of 283 for Chef salary
A Chef in Nashville earns an estimated median of $35,013 per year. That figure starts from the Tennessee state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($28,790) and scales it by Nashville's composite cost-of-living index of 112 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $23,265; the 90th percentile reaches $52,550. After federal, Tennessee state (no state income tax), and FICA taxes, a single-filer Chef takes home approximately $30,261/year — about $2,522/month or $1,164 every other week.
Compared to the national Chef median of $58,920, Nashville pays -40.6%. Relative to the Nashville median household income of $72,200, a Chefsalary runs -51.5%. Local unemployment is 2.9%[3], with an estimated 134 annual Chef openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (148,600).
Chef Snapshot — Nashville (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Nashville | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef median salary | $35,013 | $58,920 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $23,265 | $42,850 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $52,550 | $105,720 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $30,261 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $453,873 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,784/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,650/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $82,499 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 112.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 2.9% | — | [3] |
How Chef Salaries Work in Nashville
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Tennessee state-level OEWS median ($28,790) and scaling by Nashville's composite cost-of-living index (112)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and no Tennessee state income tax — a meaningful wedge worth $1,751–$2,451 per year vs average-tax states[10].
Nashville also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $82,499, which frames what "a good Chef salary" means locally: a $$35,013 wage pays about 42% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Chef Salary & Cost-of-Living Context — Nashville
Buy vs rent in Nashville
Monthly PITI on the $453,873 median home in Nashville is ~$3,066/mo — vs a $1,784/mo median rent. Rent burden on median household income is 25.9%, which falls within the recommended 30% guideline for housing costs.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Nashville
Estimated annual expense shares on a $30,261 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Nashville's COL index of 112. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Nashville's COL index of 112[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,556/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Nashville
Renting
Buying
At $2,522/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $757/mo. Nashville's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,784/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,650/mo), making rent severely cost-burdened on a median Chef salary. For homebuyers, the 12.7× price-to-income ratio is stretched — expect DTI friction on FHA / conventional underwriting without a co-borrower.
How Nashville Stacks Up for Chefs
Against 283 major US cities: Nashville ranks #69 for nominal Chef salary, #181 for rent affordability, and #209 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Nashville's nominal wage premium. Chefs here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Chef Salary Comparison
Nashville's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs TN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville, TN ★ | $35,013 | 112 | $1,556 | — |
| Memphis, TN | $49,493 | 84 | $908 | +41.4% |
| Knoxville, TN | $54,796 | 93 | $1,100 | +56.5% |
| Chattanooga, TN | $54,206 | 92 | $1,100 | +54.8% |
| Clarksville, TN | $52,439 | 89 | $1,000 | +49.8% |
| Murfreesboro, TN | $56,563 | 96 | $1,400 | +61.5% |
Chef Job Market in Nashville
Nashville has an estimated 134 annual Chefopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 148,600 national Chefs[1]. The 2.9% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
Top employers in Nashville
About the profession: Chefs and head cooks oversee kitchen operations, plan menus, and supervise food preparation in restaurants, hotels, and other food service establishments. Typical entry requirement: associate's degree or culinary certificate. Projected growth through 2034: 6%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Nashville
Early-career Chefs in Nashville start around $23,265, reach the city median ($35,013) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($52,550) at senior / specialized levels.
Related service professions in Nashville
Calculators for Chefs in Nashville
Other professions in Nashville
Frequently Asked Questions — Chef in Nashville
How much does a Chef make in Nashville, TN?
The estimated median salary for a Chef in Nashville is $35,013/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Tennessee state median ($28,790) by Nashville's composite cost-of-living index of 112 (US = 100). After federal, Tennessee state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $30,261/year or $2,522/month.
Can a Chef afford to live in Nashville?
On $2,522/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $757/month. Nashville's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,784/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,650/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 53.3%, making housing severely cost-burdened for a Chef at the local median. Home-buyers face 12.7× price-to-income, needing roughly 12.7 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Chef pay in Nashville?
On $35,013 gross, a Chef in Nashville pays approximately $2,073 in federal income tax (5.9% effective), $0 in state income tax (Tennessee has no state individual income tax), and $2,679 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 13.6%. Some Tennessee cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Nashville rank for Chef salaries vs other cities?
Nashville ranks #69 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Chef salary, #181 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #209 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Chef in Nashville?
On $30,261 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Nashville looks like: housing $18,672/yr (61.7%); food $3,893/yr; transportation $3,171/yr; healthcare $2,195/yr; utilities $1,604/yr; savings + discretionary $726/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Nashville's COL index of 112 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Chef job market like in Nashville?
Nashville's unemployment rate is 2.9% across the metro of 2,020,000. Estimated annual Chef openings: ~134 (extrapolated from 148,600 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Nashville employers pay above or below the Tennessee median for Chefs?
Not consistently — Nashville's estimated Chef median of $35,013 is 40.6% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Nashville median is derived from the Tennessee state-level BLS OEWS median ($28,790), scaled by Nashville's composite cost-of-living index of 112. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Chefmedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Tennessee's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 112index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 92.1(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
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