Chef Salary in Norman, OK: Median $24,759 in 2026
Norman (OK) · COL index 88 · Unemployment 3.2% · Metro pop 130,000 · Rank #221 of 283 for Chef salary
A Chef in Norman earns an estimated median of $24,759 per year. That figure starts from the Oklahoma state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($24,950) and scales it by Norman's composite cost-of-living index of 88 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $17,664; the 90th percentile reaches $37,044. After federal, Oklahoma state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Chef takes home approximately $21,326/year — about $1,777/month or $820 every other week.
Compared to the national Chef median of $58,920, Norman pays -58.0%. Relative to the Norman median household income of $58,200, a Chefsalary runs -57.5%. Local unemployment is 3.2%[3], with an estimated 9 annual Chef openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (148,600).
Chef Snapshot — Norman (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 | Norman | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef median salary | $24,759 | $58,920 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $17,664 | $42,850 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $37,044 | $105,720 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $21,326 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $235,000 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,000/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $925/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $58,200 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 88.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.2% | — | [3] |
How Chef Salaries Work in Norman
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Oklahoma state-level OEWS median ($24,950) and scaling by Norman's composite cost-of-living index (88)[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 Oklahoma state income tax at a 2.6% effective rate ($638/yr on the $24,759 median)[10].
Norman 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 $58,200, which frames what "a good Chef salary" means locally: a $$24,759 wage pays about 43% 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.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Norman
Estimated annual expense shares on a $21,326 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Norman's COL index of 88. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Norman's COL index of 88[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,000/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Norman
Renting
Buying
At $1,777/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $533/mo. Norman's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,000/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $925/mo), making rent severely cost-burdened on a median Chef salary. For homebuyers, the 9.5× price-to-income ratio is stretched — expect DTI friction on FHA / conventional underwriting without a co-borrower.
How Norman Stacks Up for Chefs
Against 283 major US cities: Norman ranks #221 for nominal Chef salary, #93 for rent affordability, and #70 for overall purchasing power. Norman is mid-pack: solid nominal salaries partly absorbed by cost of living. Whether it "pays well" depends heavily on housing choices.
Nearby Cities — Chef Salary Comparison
Norman'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 OK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman, OK ★ | $24,759 | 88 | $1,000 | — |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $51,850 | 88 | $848 | +109.4% |
| Tulsa, OK | $50,671 | 86 | $875 | +104.7% |
| Buffalo, NY | $51,850 | 88 | $1,125 | +109.4% |
| Killeen, TX | $51,850 | 88 | $1,050 | +109.4% |
| Beaumont, TX | $51,850 | 88 | $925 | +109.4% |
Chef Job Market in Norman
Norman has an estimated 9 annual Chefopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 148,600 national Chefs[1]. The 3.2% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
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 Norman
Early-career Chefs in Norman start around $17,664, reach the city median ($24,759) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($37,044) at senior / specialized levels.
Related service professions in Norman
Calculators for Chefs in Norman
Other professions in Norman
Frequently Asked Questions — Chef in Norman
How much does a Chef make in Norman, OK?
The estimated median salary for a Chef in Norman is $24,759/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Oklahoma state median ($24,950) by Norman's composite cost-of-living index of 88 (US = 100). After federal, Oklahoma state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $21,326/year or $1,777/month.
Can a Chef afford to live in Norman?
On $1,777/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $533/month. Norman's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,000/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $925/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 48.5%, making housing severely cost-burdened for a Chef at the local median. Home-buyers face 9.5× price-to-income, needing roughly 9.5 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Chef pay in Norman?
On $24,759 gross, a Chef in Norman pays approximately $901 in federal income tax (3.6% effective), $638 in Oklahoma state income tax (2.6% effective), and $1,894 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 13.9%. Some Oklahoma cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Norman rank for Chef salaries vs other cities?
Norman ranks #221 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Chef salary, #93 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #70 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 Norman?
On $21,326 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Norman looks like: housing $12,000/yr (56.3%); food $2,375/yr; transportation $2,030/yr; healthcare $1,439/yr; utilities $1,002/yr; savings + discretionary $2,480/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Norman's COL index of 88 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Chef job market like in Norman?
Norman's unemployment rate is 3.2% across the metro of 130,000. Estimated annual Chef openings: ~9 (extrapolated from 148,600 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Norman employers pay above or below the Oklahoma median for Chefs?
Not consistently — Norman's estimated Chef median of $24,759 is 58.0% 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 Norman median is derived from the Oklahoma state-level BLS OEWS median ($24,950), scaled by Norman's composite cost-of-living index of 88. 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 Oklahoma'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 88index 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 = 88.7(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 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Oklahoma Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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