Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

35-3031 Waiters and Waitresses

Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment. Excludes "Fast Food and Counter Workers" (35-3023).

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National estimates for Waiters and Waitresses
Industry profile for Waiters and Waitresses
Geographic profile for Waiters and Waitresses

National estimates for Waiters and Waitresses:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Waiters and Waitresses:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
1,944,240	0.6 %	$ 13.20	$ 27,470	0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for Waiters and Waitresses:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 8.42	$ 9.27	$ 11.42	$ 14.73	$ 20.46
Annual Wage (2)	$ 17,520	$ 19,290	$ 23,740	$ 30,650	$ 42,550

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Industry profile for Waiters and Waitresses:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Waiters and Waitresses are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Waiters and Waitresses, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Waiters and Waitresses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	1,586,420	17.59	$ 13.00	$ 27,030
Traveler Accommodation	108,350	7.15	$ 15.35	$ 31,940
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	53,340	5.26	$ 13.08	$ 27,200
Special Food Services	52,490	9.40	$ 15.51	$ 32,260
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	42,960	15.14	$ 12.50	$ 26,010

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Waiters and Waitresses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	1,586,420	17.59	$ 13.00	$ 27,030
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	42,960	15.14	$ 12.50	$ 26,010
Special Food Services	52,490	9.40	$ 15.51	$ 32,260
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water	880	7.89	$ 14.52	$ 30,210
Traveler Accommodation	108,350	7.15	$ 15.35	$ 31,940

Top paying industries for Waiters and Waitresses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services	130	0.07	$ 17.43	$ 36,250
Management of Companies and Enterprises	1,060	0.04	$ 16.56	$ 34,450
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	30	(7)	$ 16.34	$ 33,990
Clothing Stores	(8)	(8)	$ 16.31	$ 33,920
Special Food Services	52,490	9.40	$ 15.51	$ 32,260

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Geographic profile for Waiters and Waitresses:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Waiters and Waitresses are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Waiters and Waitresses, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Waiters and Waitresses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	211,700	12.88	0.92	$ 16.49	$ 34,300
Texas	179,900	14.86	1.06	$ 10.28	$ 21,370
Florida	168,780	19.99	1.43	$ 12.91	$ 26,860
New York	105,100	12.09	0.87	$ 18.99	$ 39,510
Illinois	67,520	12.00	0.86	$ 11.14	$ 23,180

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Waiters and Waitresses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	13,590	23.67	1.69	$ 28.85	$ 60,010
Nevada	25,790	20.62	1.48	$ 12.78	$ 26,590
Florida	168,780	19.99	1.43	$ 12.91	$ 26,860
Montana	8,330	18.28	1.31	$ 11.04	$ 22,960
South Carolina	33,280	16.51	1.18	$ 9.77	$ 20,320

Top paying states for Waiters and Waitresses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	13,590	23.67	1.69	$ 28.85	$ 60,010
District of Columbia	7,560	11.00	0.79	$ 26.54	$ 55,200
Washington	40,010	12.52	0.90	$ 19.57	$ 40,700
New York	105,100	12.09	0.87	$ 18.99	$ 39,510
Arizona	42,530	15.00	1.07	$ 18.46	$ 38,400

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Waiters and Waitresses:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	107,510	12.17	0.87	$ 18.12	$ 37,690
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	78,250	13.44	0.96	$ 16.07	$ 33,420
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	53,810	15.00	1.07	$ 9.50	$ 19,760
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	51,300	11.76	0.84	$ 11.30	$ 23,500
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	44,810	15.09	1.08	$ 11.44	$ 23,790
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	42,920	17.12	1.22	$ 12.57	$ 26,150
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	40,950	15.55	1.11	$ 11.09	$ 23,070
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	34,790	11.51	0.82	$ 15.99	$ 33,260
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	34,250	13.16	0.94	$ 16.02	$ 33,320
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	32,170	13.80	0.99	$ 19.64	$ 40,850

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Waiters and Waitresses:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	6,530	42.26	3.02	$ 9.66	$ 20,080
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI	2,590	38.71	2.77	$ 27.51	$ 57,210
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL	4,190	38.36	2.74	$ 13.12	$ 27,290
The Villages, FL	1,060	35.53	2.54	$ 11.57	$ 24,060
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	2,510	33.81	2.42	$ 10.80	$ 22,460
Panama City, FL	2,500	33.23	2.38	$ 11.77	$ 24,480
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL	2,430	33.19	2.37	$ 9.26	$ 19,260
Flagstaff, AZ	1,780	31.32	2.24	$ 16.79	$ 34,930
Brunswick, GA	1,170	29.60	2.12	$ 9.65	$ 20,070
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL	4,300	29.52	2.11	$ 16.84	$ 35,020