Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
35-3041 Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars. Excludes “Fast Food and Counter Workers” (35-3023) and “Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers” (41-9091).
National estimates for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
Industry profile for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
Geographic profile for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
National estimates for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 243,030 |
1.6 % |
$ 14.19 |
$ 29,500 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 10.07 |
$ 11.52 |
$ 13.81 |
$ 15.23 |
$ 18.49 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 20,940 |
$ 23,970 |
$ 28,730 |
$ 31,670 |
$ 38,460 |
Industry profile for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly |
60,160 |
6.75 |
$ 13.45 |
$ 27,970 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
56,530 |
4.02 |
$ 13.70 |
$ 28,490 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
43,730 |
0.78 |
$ 16.63 |
$ 34,580 |
| Special Food Services |
20,470 |
4.32 |
$ 14.40 |
$ 29,940 |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places |
16,100 |
0.17 |
$ 11.75 |
$ 24,440 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly |
60,160 |
6.75 |
$ 13.45 |
$ 27,970 |
| Special Food Services |
20,470 |
4.32 |
$ 14.40 |
$ 29,940 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
56,530 |
4.02 |
$ 13.70 |
$ 28,490 |
| Traveler Accommodation |
11,770 |
0.86 |
$ 14.39 |
$ 29,930 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
43,730 |
0.78 |
$ 16.63 |
$ 34,580 |
Top paying industries for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Legal Services |
40 |
(7) |
$ 27.46 |
$ 57,130 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
370 |
0.04 |
$ 21.63 |
$ 45,000 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations |
110 |
0.03 |
$ 18.62 |
$ 38,720 |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals |
1,560 |
0.65 |
$ 17.59 |
$ 36,590 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
43,730 |
0.78 |
$ 16.63 |
$ 34,580 |
Geographic profile for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
23,630 |
1.43 |
0.83 |
$ 17.67 |
$ 36,760 |
| New York |
18,540 |
2.14 |
1.24 |
$ 17.56 |
$ 36,530 |
| Pennsylvania |
15,320 |
2.74 |
1.59 |
$ 13.33 |
$ 27,720 |
| Ohio |
14,540 |
2.80 |
1.62 |
$ 13.03 |
$ 27,110 |
| Florida |
14,300 |
1.66 |
0.96 |
$ 12.41 |
$ 25,820 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Nebraska |
4,260 |
4.45 |
2.58 |
$ 13.07 |
$ 27,190 |
| Minnesota |
9,650 |
3.53 |
2.05 |
$ 14.87 |
$ 30,930 |
| North Dakota |
1,370 |
3.46 |
2.01 |
$ 14.81 |
$ 30,790 |
| New Jersey |
12,180 |
3.16 |
1.83 |
$ 14.68 |
$ 30,530 |
| Ohio |
14,540 |
2.80 |
1.62 |
$ 13.03 |
$ 27,110 |
Top paying states for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
430 |
0.65 |
0.38 |
$ 21.67 |
$ 45,070 |
| California |
23,630 |
1.43 |
0.83 |
$ 17.67 |
$ 36,760 |
| New York |
18,540 |
2.14 |
1.24 |
$ 17.56 |
$ 36,530 |
| Alaska |
240 |
0.82 |
0.47 |
$ 17.12 |
$ 35,600 |
| Massachusetts |
5,770 |
1.70 |
0.98 |
$ 16.50 |
$ 34,320 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| 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 |
20,210 |
2.33 |
1.35 |
$ 17.50 |
$ 36,410 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
8,010 |
1.40 |
0.81 |
$ 16.72 |
$ 34,770 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
7,900 |
1.87 |
1.08 |
$ 14.30 |
$ 29,750 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
7,570 |
2.85 |
1.65 |
$ 14.05 |
$ 29,220 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
5,310 |
2.91 |
1.69 |
$ 15.47 |
$ 32,190 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
5,110 |
1.42 |
0.82 |
$ 10.68 |
$ 22,200 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
3,850 |
1.49 |
0.86 |
$ 16.82 |
$ 34,980 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
3,840 |
1.31 |
0.76 |
$ 15.89 |
$ 33,040 |
| Cleveland-Elyria, OH |
3,470 |
3.60 |
2.08 |
$ 13.37 |
$ 27,820 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
3,430 |
1.40 |
0.81 |
$ 12.79 |
$ 26,610 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA |
270 |
6.73 |
3.90 |
$ 12.86 |
$ 26,760 |
| Grand Island, NE |
260 |
6.34 |
3.68 |
$ 12.75 |
$ 26,510 |
| Lincoln, NE |
960 |
5.65 |
3.28 |
$ 13.22 |
$ 27,500 |
| Lancaster, PA |
1,240 |
5.27 |
3.05 |
$ 12.15 |
$ 25,270 |
| Duluth, MN-WI |
620 |
5.20 |
3.02 |
$ 14.34 |
$ 29,820 |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN |
240 |
5.06 |
2.93 |
$ 14.54 |
$ 30,240 |
| Rochester, MN |
580 |
4.99 |
2.89 |
$ 15.06 |
$ 31,320 |
| Utica-Rome, NY |
560 |
4.90 |
2.84 |
$ 13.95 |
$ 29,020 |
| Mankato-North Mankato, MN |
240 |
4.65 |
2.70 |
$ 13.98 |
$ 29,080 |
| Lawton, OK |
190 |
4.64 |
2.69 |
(8) |
(8) |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Napa, CA |
140 |
2.04 |
1.18 |
$ 22.25 |
$ 46,270 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,420 |
1.33 |
0.77 |
$ 21.12 |
$ 43,930 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
3,390 |
1.51 |
0.88 |
$ 20.87 |
$ 43,400 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
230 |
1.76 |
1.02 |
$ 19.52 |
$ 40,610 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
120 |
1.24 |
0.72 |
$ 19.08 |
$ 39,690 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
100 |
1.52 |
0.88 |
$ 18.54 |
$ 38,560 |
| Salinas, CA |
330 |
1.97 |
1.14 |
$ 18.28 |
$ 38,010 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
380 |
1.97 |
1.14 |
$ 18.23 |
$ 37,920 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
1,390 |
1.42 |
0.82 |
$ 17.98 |
$ 37,390 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA |
210 |
1.91 |
1.11 |
$ 17.90 |
$ 37,230 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant:
About May 2021 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.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(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 OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
