• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

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)
2,237,850	0.8 %	$ 17.56	$ 36,530	0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for Waiters and Waitresses:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 8.94	$ 11.43	$ 15.36	$ 20.00	$ 28.89
Annual Wage (2)	$ 18,600	$ 23,770	$ 31,940	$ 41,600	$ 60,100

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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	1,830,190	16.84	$ 17.53	$ 36,470
Traveler Accommodation	127,390	6.88	$ 18.20	$ 37,860
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	69,720	5.11	$ 16.55	$ 34,430
Special Food Services	51,740	7.18	$ 18.52	$ 38,520
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	50,430	12.24	$ 17.95	$ 37,330

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	1,830,190	16.84	$ 17.53	$ 36,470
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	50,430	12.24	$ 17.95	$ 37,330
Special Food Services	51,740	7.18	$ 18.52	$ 38,520
Traveler Accommodation	127,390	6.88	$ 18.20	$ 37,860
Beverage Manufacturing	20,430	6.45	$ 18.83	$ 39,160

Top paying industries for Waiters and Waitresses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events	1,820	1.11	$ 26.75	$ 55,640
Other Schools and Instruction	(8)	(8)	$ 22.49	$ 46,770
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers	120	0.19	$ 21.91	$ 45,560
Performing Arts Companies	3,070	2.27	$ 20.52	$ 42,670
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	1,870	0.44	$ 19.60	$ 40,770

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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	225,040	12.54	0.85	$ 20.77	$ 43,200
Texas	202,590	14.94	1.01	$ 14.11	$ 29,350
Florida	198,440	20.74	1.41	$ 17.81	$ 37,050
New York	130,190	13.86	0.94	$ 24.54	$ 51,040
Illinois	86,200	14.34	0.97	$ 16.30	$ 33,910

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	38,230	25.80	1.75	$ 15.56	$ 32,360
Hawaii	14,380	23.30	1.58	$ 21.45	$ 44,620
Florida	198,440	20.74	1.41	$ 17.81	$ 37,050
Rhode Island	9,430	19.31	1.31	$ 20.15	$ 41,900
South Carolina	42,470	19.10	1.30	$ 10.95	$ 22,770

Top paying states for Waiters and Waitresses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Vermont	4,660	15.48	1.05	$ 28.94	$ 60,200
Washington	43,430	12.42	0.84	$ 27.87	$ 57,960
District of Columbia	11,640	16.59	1.13	$ 24.98	$ 51,970
New York	130,190	13.86	0.94	$ 24.54	$ 51,040
Arizona	49,290	15.75	1.07	$ 23.60	$ 49,080

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	136,960	14.42	0.98	$ 24.45	$ 50,860
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	82,410	13.32	0.90	$ 19.48	$ 40,520
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	67,270	14.93	1.01	$ 16.51	$ 34,340
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	59,070	14.89	1.01	$ 14.87	$ 30,920
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	54,080	19.87	1.35	$ 17.96	$ 37,360
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	49,020	15.42	1.05	$ 14.05	$ 29,220
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	44,640	14.44	0.98	$ 21.32	$ 44,340
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	42,590	15.12	1.03	$ 14.59	$ 30,340
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	42,350	14.97	1.02	$ 17.83	$ 37,080
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	38,730	14.02	0.95	$ 19.96	$ 41,520

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	1,760	43.81	2.97	$ 20.34	$ 42,300
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	7,520	42.07	2.85	$ 10.72	$ 22,290
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI	2,960	39.08	2.65	$ 25.86	$ 53,800
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	3,130	38.85	2.64	$ 11.29	$ 23,490
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL	3,040	37.31	2.53	$ 10.75	$ 22,350
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ	4,670	37.17	2.52	$ 19.09	$ 39,710
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL	4,480	36.59	2.48	$ 17.29	$ 35,970
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL	5,320	32.65	2.22	$ 19.65	$ 40,880
The Villages, FL	1,230	32.24	2.19	$ 16.83	$ 35,010
Flagstaff, AZ	1,940	30.34	2.06	$ 22.62	$ 47,060