People are eating out more than ever, and that means more money for chefs and restaurants.
Last year was the first on record during which Americans spent more money eating out than they did buying groceries, according to Quartz, a digital news site. There are number of reasons for this shift — increasing competition and mass food production driving costs down — but diningtrends have been leaning more and more towardeating outever since women entered the workforce. Mix that with millennials’ tendency to spend frivolously, and you’ve got yourself a thriving restaurant industry — Americans spentmore than $50 billionon eating out in 2015.
With that kind of money on the scene, it’s no surprise the industry expects to see a 9 percent increase in the amount of jobs available for chefs and head cooks by 2024.
It might have you wondering if you should try your hand at culinary school. But since opportunities can vary from state to state,Sparefoot teamed up with Indeed and Zillow to get a list of the of “The 10 Best Cities for Chefs in America,” by analyzing job availability, average annual salary, salary as a percentage of median home price, and median annual rent as a percentage of salary. Phillycame in at No. 2 on the list, thanks in large part to affordable housing. Chefs here make an average of $56,000 a year and spend only $14,544 a year on rent. The median home price is also extremely low, at $159,000. Fourth on the list wasBoston, which boasts the second-highest average salary in the nation for chefs at $67,000 a year. However, housing can be pricey. Median annual rents top $30,000 and the median home price is $629,000. New York City came in at No. 5, offering prospective chefs the most job opportunities by far — jobs here account for about 20 percent of total chef jobs available in the U.S. It lost points on housing affordability. Chefs in New York City make an average of $64,000 a year, but with median rents at more than $28,200 a year and median home prices hovering around $725,000, it can be tough to afford to live there. Check out the complete list below and see where your city stands:
10. San Francisco
9. Los Angeles
8. Miami
7. Washington D.C.
6. Dallas
5. New York City
4. Boston
3. Chicago
2. Philadelphia
1. Atlanta
Philly, NYC, Boston among ‘best cities for chefs’
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