Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018
35-3031 Waiters and Waitresses
Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment. Excludes "Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop" (35-3022).
National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation
National estimates for this occupation: Top
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 2,582,410 |
0.5 % |
$12.42 |
$25,830 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$8.33 |
$9.05 |
$10.47 |
$13.60 |
$19.61 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$17,330 |
$18,820 |
$21,780 |
$28,280 |
$40,780 |
Industry profile for this occupation: Top
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places |
2,102,220 |
19.66 |
$12.23 |
$25,440 |
| Traveler Accommodation |
156,740 |
7.84 |
$14.29 |
$29,730 |
| Special Food Services |
74,570 |
10.39 |
$14.34 |
$29,830 |
| Other Amusement and Recreation Industries |
70,640 |
5.40 |
$12.09 |
$25,150 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
63,390 |
16.20 |
$11.61 |
$24,160 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places |
2,102,220 |
19.66 |
$12.23 |
$25,440 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
63,390 |
16.20 |
$11.61 |
$24,160 |
| Special Food Services |
74,570 |
10.39 |
$14.34 |
$29,830 |
| Traveler Accommodation |
156,740 |
7.84 |
$14.29 |
$29,730 |
| Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water |
900 |
5.52 |
$15.11 |
$31,420 |
Top paying industries for this occupation:
Geographic profile for this occupation: Top
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in this occupation:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
286,930 |
16.87 |
0.95 |
$14.55 |
$30,250 |
| Texas |
216,670 |
17.89 |
1.00 |
$11.31 |
$23,520 |
| Florida |
211,860 |
24.61 |
1.38 |
$12.56 |
$26,120 |
| New York |
167,250 |
17.82 |
1.00 |
$16.57 |
$34,460 |
| Pennsylvania |
98,970 |
16.92 |
0.95 |
$11.95 |
$24,850 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii |
19,130 |
29.81 |
1.67 |
$25.05 |
$52,110 |
| Nevada |
37,400 |
27.76 |
1.56 |
$12.01 |
$24,980 |
| Florida |
211,860 |
24.61 |
1.38 |
$12.56 |
$26,120 |
| Montana |
10,260 |
22.15 |
1.24 |
$10.09 |
$20,990 |
| Maine |
12,890 |
21.29 |
1.19 |
$13.25 |
$27,550 |
Top paying States for this occupation:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii |
19,130 |
29.81 |
1.67 |
$25.05 |
$52,110 |
| District of Columbia |
9,630 |
13.51 |
0.76 |
$23.14 |
$48,120 |
| Washington |
54,770 |
16.80 |
0.94 |
$17.27 |
$35,930 |
| Vermont |
5,590 |
18.33 |
1.03 |
$16.62 |
$34,560 |
| New York |
167,250 |
17.82 |
1.00 |
$16.57 |
$34,460 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:
| 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 |
157,440 |
16.58 |
0.93 |
$16.38 |
$34,070 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
105,750 |
17.28 |
0.97 |
$13.70 |
$28,490 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
65,800 |
14.18 |
0.79 |
$11.23 |
$23,360 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
62,930 |
17.64 |
0.99 |
$10.98 |
$22,840 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
57,140 |
22.06 |
1.24 |
$12.62 |
$26,240 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
56,850 |
19.06 |
1.07 |
$12.57 |
$26,150 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
52,160 |
19.44 |
1.09 |
$9.82 |
$20,420 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
51,190 |
18.56 |
1.04 |
$15.53 |
$32,310 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
51,090 |
16.30 |
0.91 |
$14.09 |
$29,310 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
46,060 |
16.17 |
0.91 |
$12.14 |
$25,250 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
4,130 |
54.81 |
3.07 |
$25.04 |
$52,080 |
| The Villages, FL |
1,420 |
51.99 |
2.91 |
$10.58 |
$22,000 |
| Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC |
7,740 |
47.49 |
2.66 |
$10.25 |
$21,320 |
| Ocean City, NJ |
1,760 |
45.10 |
2.53 |
$13.81 |
$28,730 |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL |
4,490 |
40.59 |
2.28 |
$12.38 |
$25,750 |
| Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC |
3,000 |
39.79 |
2.23 |
$9.58 |
$19,930 |
| Panama City, FL |
3,220 |
39.14 |
2.19 |
$10.97 |
$22,810 |
| Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL |
5,640 |
38.63 |
2.17 |
$16.18 |
$33,650 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ |
4,540 |
36.13 |
2.02 |
$11.98 |
$24,910 |
| Flagstaff, AZ |
2,180 |
35.28 |
1.98 |
$13.17 |
$27,400 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
11,360 |
24.37 |
1.37 |
$25.23 |
$52,480 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
4,130 |
54.81 |
3.07 |
$25.04 |
$52,080 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA |
830 |
17.48 |
0.98 |
$19.34 |
$40,230 |
| Napa, CA |
2,170 |
28.78 |
1.61 |
$18.94 |
$39,390 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
34,530 |
17.40 |
0.98 |
$18.82 |
$39,140 |
| Kingston, NY |
1,660 |
27.26 |
1.53 |
$18.40 |
$38,270 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
42,870 |
17.72 |
0.99 |
$17.54 |
$36,490 |
| Burlington-South Burlington, VT |
1,960 |
15.97 |
0.89 |
$16.42 |
$34,150 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
157,440 |
16.58 |
0.93 |
$16.38 |
$34,070 |
| Salem, OR |
2,230 |
13.13 |
0.74 |
$16.31 |
$33,920 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area |
5,390 |
19.79 |
1.11 |
$10.13 |
$21,070 |
| North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) |
4,990 |
14.89 |
0.83 |
$9.92 |
$20,640 |
| Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area |
4,470 |
37.22 |
2.09 |
$12.79 |
$26,590 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area |
4,420 |
11.26 |
0.63 |
$9.09 |
$18,910 |
| East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area |
4,120 |
31.05 |
1.74 |
$9.27 |
$19,280 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| South Florida nonmetropolitan area |
3,060 |
40.72 |
2.28 |
$13.15 |
$27,350 |
| Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area |
4,470 |
37.22 |
2.09 |
$12.79 |
$26,590 |
| Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area |
3,640 |
36.37 |
2.04 |
$24.53 |
$51,020 |
| Northern New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area |
1,180 |
32.82 |
1.84 |
$11.94 |
$24,830 |
| Southwest Missouri nonmetropolitan area |
2,360 |
31.17 |
1.75 |
$9.63 |
$20,020 |
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area |
3,640 |
36.37 |
2.04 |
$24.53 |
$51,020 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area |
1,440 |
14.53 |
0.81 |
$15.87 |
$33,010 |
| Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area |
1,810 |
17.00 |
0.95 |
$15.30 |
$31,830 |
| Arizona nonmetropolitan area |
1,500 |
16.36 |
0.92 |
$15.13 |
$31,480 |
| Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area |
1,680 |
27.82 |
1.56 |
$15.01 |
$31,220 |
About May 2018 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OES estimates and related information:
May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 29, 2019
United States Department of Labor
