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The national median salary for Cooks, Private Household is $47,944 per year ($23.05/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $40,643 and $55,453 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $91,125 per year. There are approximately 1,100 cooks, private household employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Prepare meals in private homes. Includes personal chefs.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+5.1%
Faster than average
Annual openings
5K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
34K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
3% from new growth97% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Experience
Less than 5 years
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 1 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Religious Organizations
NAICS 813100
220
$37,440
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$17.35
$36,088
P25
$19.54
$40,643
P50MEDIAN
$23.05
$47,944
P75
$26.66
$55,453
P90
$43.81
$91,125
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · retail sector
Active
Openings Rate
4.6%
Quits Rate
3.1%
Retail openings rose to 737K (+52K) in March, rate up to 4.6%. Hires increased to 684K (+73K). Frontline turnover persists with quit rate at 3.1%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average cooks, private household salary?
The national median salary for Cooks, Private Household is $47,944 per year ($23.05/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $40,643 and $55,453 annually.
How much do top-earning cooks, private household make?
The 90th percentile salary for Cooks, Private Household is $91,125 per year ($43.81/hr). The 75th percentile is $55,453 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for cooks, private household?
Entry-level Cooks, Private Household (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,088 per year ($17.35/hr). The 25th percentile is $40,643 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.