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Chefs and Head Cooks pay in Kentucky and Rhode Island
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Chefs and Head Cooks is $48,070 per year in Kentucky. It is $79,930 per year in Rhode Island. Kentucky is 39.9% below Rhode Island on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 35-1011 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 1,790 wage and salary jobs in Kentucky and 740 in Rhode Island. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings