• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

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)
1,804,030	0.8 %	$ 13.95	$ 29,010	0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for Waiters and Waitresses:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 8.58	$ 9.63	$ 12.50	$ 14.83	$ 22.07
Annual Wage (2)	$ 17,840	$ 20,020	$ 26,000	$ 30,850	$ 45,910

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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	1,529,610	16.22	$ 13.93	$ 28,970
Traveler Accommodation	71,020	5.17	$ 14.16	$ 29,440
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	56,820	5.11	$ 13.80	$ 28,710
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	39,150	12.76	$ 13.67	$ 28,430
Special Food Services	26,770	5.65	$ 15.69	$ 32,640

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	1,529,610	16.22	$ 13.93	$ 28,970
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	39,150	12.76	$ 13.67	$ 28,430
Special Food Services	26,770	5.65	$ 15.69	$ 32,640
Traveler Accommodation	71,020	5.17	$ 14.16	$ 29,440
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	56,820	5.11	$ 13.80	$ 28,710

Top paying industries for Waiters and Waitresses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	1,290	0.32	$ 18.08	$ 37,610
Technical and Trade Schools	(8)	(8)	$ 17.62	$ 36,650
Management of Companies and Enterprises	2,200	0.09	$ 16.03	$ 33,340
Grantmaking and Giving Services	130	0.09	$ 15.87	$ 33,010
Elementary and Secondary Schools	120	(7)	$ 15.72	$ 32,700

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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	171,630	10.38	0.81	$ 17.35	$ 36,090
Texas	171,060	13.99	1.09	$ 11.97	$ 24,890
Florida	170,290	19.79	1.55	$ 13.94	$ 28,990
New York	91,740	10.58	0.83	$ 19.09	$ 39,710
Ohio	64,740	12.45	0.97	$ 11.45	$ 23,810

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)
Nevada	27,670	21.46	1.68	$ 11.58	$ 24,090
Florida	170,290	19.79	1.55	$ 13.94	$ 28,990
Oklahoma	26,570	17.06	1.33	$ 11.32	$ 23,540
Louisiana	29,510	16.45	1.28	$ 9.95	$ 20,700
Hawaii	8,560	15.62	1.22	$ 18.93	$ 39,370

Top paying states for Waiters and Waitresses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	5,820	8.79	0.69	$ 23.19	$ 48,240
Washington	30,000	9.36	0.73	$ 21.39	$ 44,490
Arizona	44,820	15.56	1.21	$ 19.43	$ 40,400
New York	91,740	10.58	0.83	$ 19.09	$ 39,710
Hawaii	8,560	15.62	1.22	$ 18.93	$ 39,370

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	91,580	10.55	0.82	$ 18.06	$ 37,560
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	62,430	10.91	0.85	$ 17.49	$ 36,370
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	48,860	13.61	1.06	$ 12.13	$ 25,240
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	45,210	10.68	0.83	$ 12.48	$ 25,960
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	44,210	15.26	1.19	$ 12.49	$ 25,970
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	40,790	16.63	1.30	$ 14.00	$ 29,120
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	37,410	14.45	1.13	$ 11.51	$ 23,940
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	32,010	15.12	1.18	$ 19.59	$ 40,740
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	31,380	10.70	0.84	$ 17.06	$ 35,480
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	29,960	11.28	0.88	$ 14.07	$ 29,260

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)
Ocean City, NJ	1,580	40.44	3.16	$ 15.19	$ 31,590
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL	2,930	39.38	3.08	$ 10.21	$ 21,240
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	6,150	37.87	2.96	$ 10.01	$ 20,810
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL	4,190	36.73	2.87	$ 14.31	$ 29,760
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL	5,190	35.43	2.77	$ 15.02	$ 31,240
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ	4,070	35.04	2.74	$ 14.82	$ 30,830
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	2,450	32.69	2.55	$ 10.82	$ 22,500
Brunswick, GA	1,260	31.00	2.42	$ 9.73	$ 20,240
The Villages, FL	1,020	30.52	2.38	$ 13.37	$ 27,800
Flagstaff, AZ	1,760	30.38	2.37	$ 19.76	$ 41,100