Chef pay in Vermont after taxes: what you keep (2026)

The median cook in Vermont earned $44,560 a year in May 2024, which is $21 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 2,710 cooks the BLS counts in Vermont earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $38,020 and $46,310. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Vermont's tax, and Vermont has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 8.75%.

What the median cook keeps in Vermont

For a single filer on the median $44,560, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 6.1% of gross at this salary, approximated at 70% of the top bracket, which is where a middle income lands in most progressive states. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Vermont ranks for cook pay

Of the 50 states, Vermont ranks 5 of 50 on the gross median for cooks, in the top ten. The highest-paying state is Massachusetts at $46,280 and the lowest is West Virginia at $28,560. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.

Across the border

The same job in the states next to Vermont, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

Massachusetts leaves a cook with more at the end of the year than Vermont does. New Hampshire and New York pay less once tax is counted. Pay is one line; rent is the other, and a higher median in a metro with higher rent can leave you with less.

Where the cook jobs are in Vermont

The BLS count of 2,710 cooks is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Burlington, South Burlington and Rutland, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($46,310 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Vermont openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

Vermont also has a program that pay people to move in: New Relocating Worker Grant (up to $7,500 for moving costs, for people who move to Vermont for a job with a Vermont employer; funded in rounds, closes when the money is gone). Each has a residence condition and a funding round; the amount is the program's own "up to" figure.

What people get wrong about cook pay in Vermont

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Vermont is $21 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($21) is what the typical cook makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $44,560 offer in Vermont is $35,059 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $37,788.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $42,560 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $47,560 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Burlington pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Vermont, on one page

The Vermont page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in Vermont this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Vermont employers hiring from out of state.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Chef. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.