Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
Median $33,980
Occupation · SOC 35-9021
Dishwashers: pay and where the jobs are
What dishwashers earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$34,810 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $34,310
- Median hourly wage
- $16.73
- Mean hourly wage
- $16.49
- Employment
- 477,450
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-9021.
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How much do dishwashers make?
The median annual wage for dishwashers was $34,810 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $26,200 and the highest-paid 10% more than $42,860. As an hourly rate, the median is $16.73. About 477,450 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Washington ($40,080), District of Columbia ($38,670) and California ($37,870). Washington also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for dishwashers looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $26,200 | $12.59 | $2,183 | $1,932 |
| 25th percentile | $29,690 | $14.27 | $2,474 | $2,170 |
| Median | $34,810 | $16.73 | $2,901 | $2,512 |
| 75th percentile | $37,440 | $18.00 | $3,120 | $2,689 |
| 90th percentile | $42,860 | $20.61 | $3,572 | $3,052 |
Dishwashers: pay by state
54 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$31,611 take-home in national prices
2
$30,974 take-home in national prices
3
$30,680 take-home in national prices
Where a median dishwasher paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 12,630 | $40,080 | $35,570 | $49,360 | $33,828 | $31,611 |
| District of Columbia | 3,580 | $38,670 | $37,710 | $44,190 | $32,097 | $29,206 |
| California | 74,160 | $37,870 | $35,160 | $45,640 | $31,619 | $28,557 |
| Colorado | 8,500 | $37,840 | $30,900 | $45,340 | $31,461 | $30,530 |
| Hawaii | 4,520 | $37,740 | $29,500 | $61,160 | $31,144 | $28,325 |
| Massachusetts | 14,100 | $37,190 | $34,030 | $46,000 | $30,252 | $28,605 |
| Illinois | 16,250 | $36,180 | $31,200 | $42,270 | $29,605 | $29,617 |
| Oregon | 6,680 | $36,040 | $30,930 | $43,330 | $28,793 | $27,856 |
| Vermont | 1,280 | $36,010 | $29,650 | $39,770 | $30,342 | $30,974 |
| New Jersey | 7,450 | $35,900 | $32,220 | $42,860 | $30,182 | $27,739 |
| Delaware | 1,520 | $35,780 | $31,200 | $39,520 | $29,477 | $29,534 |
| Maine | 2,940 | $35,620 | $30,590 | $43,000 | $29,775 | $30,680 |
| Connecticut | 7,340 | $35,550 | $34,010 | $40,050 | $29,622 | $28,590 |
| New York | 30,680 | $35,450 | $32,240 | $45,520 | $29,162 | $27,022 |
| Arizona | 10,120 | $35,130 | $31,470 | $39,430 | $29,922 | $29,721 |
| New Hampshire | 2,370 | $34,960 | $27,290 | $43,580 | $30,270 | $29,060 |
| Nevada | 11,360 | $34,920 | $27,570 | $48,540 | $30,238 | $30,245 |
| Minnesota | 8,710 | $34,060 | $25,470 | $38,800 | $28,394 | $28,791 |
| Maryland | 9,310 | $34,030 | $31,200 | $38,040 | $28,273 | $26,937 |
| Rhode Island | 2,790 | $33,960 | $31,300 | $38,550 | $28,437 | $27,803 |
| Alaska | 1,300 | $33,890 | $27,040 | $36,440 | $29,241 | $28,567 |
| Virginia | 12,520 | $33,130 | $27,300 | $40,450 | $27,709 | $27,407 |
| Missouri | 7,200 | $32,150 | $28,600 | $38,580 | $27,439 | $30,213 |
| Utah | 3,650 | $31,830 | $21,940 | $37,870 | $27,128 | $27,440 |
| Michigan | 11,510 | $31,300 | $25,960 | $37,930 | $26,250 | $27,282 |
| Florida | 40,480 | $31,240 | $28,250 | $37,010 | $27,281 | $26,381 |
| Tennessee | 7,810 | $30,530 | $22,900 | $38,580 | $26,711 | $29,075 |
| New Mexico | 3,250 | $30,520 | $27,180 | $37,300 | $26,335 | $28,559 |
| North Carolina | 12,050 | $30,340 | $23,540 | $37,320 | $25,856 | $27,412 |
| Montana | 2,120 | $30,130 | $22,580 | $38,550 | $25,730 | $27,186 |
| North Dakota | 800 | $29,980 | $22,570 | $38,440 | $26,269 | $29,529 |
| Pennsylvania | 19,570 | $29,950 | $21,550 | $37,110 | $25,304 | $25,934 |
| Idaho | 2,730 | $29,920 | $19,100 | $42,860 | $25,743 | $26,958 |
| Nebraska | 2,170 | $29,740 | $28,080 | $37,120 | $25,562 | $28,370 |
| Georgia | 11,300 | $29,730 | $21,220 | $36,590 | $25,333 | $26,308 |
| Virgin Islands | 150 | $29,710 | $25,720 | $35,390 | — | — |
| Texas | 33,630 | $29,610 | $21,920 | $36,720 | $25,972 | $26,759 |
| Wyoming | 1,060 | $29,600 | $22,660 | $39,120 | $25,964 | $28,011 |
| Ohio | 14,380 | $29,520 | $23,150 | $36,670 | $25,538 | $27,527 |
| Indiana | 7,000 | $29,480 | $21,840 | $36,660 | $25,027 | $26,816 |
| Iowa | 3,290 | $29,300 | $20,720 | $36,030 | $25,261 | $28,783 |
| South Carolina | 7,550 | $29,160 | $22,290 | $36,150 | $25,328 | $27,017 |
| Wisconsin | 8,190 | $29,070 | $20,190 | $37,830 | $24,992 | $26,561 |
| Kentucky | 4,890 | $29,060 | $21,330 | $36,240 | $24,630 | $27,319 |
| Alabama | 3,540 | $28,930 | $21,810 | $35,840 | $24,301 | $27,359 |
| South Dakota | 1,240 | $28,190 | $24,230 | $36,750 | $24,824 | $28,023 |
| Kansas | 2,480 | $28,060 | $20,150 | $38,580 | $23,922 | $26,560 |
| Arkansas | 2,630 | $27,540 | $23,830 | $35,030 | $23,754 | $27,323 |
| Oklahoma | 4,060 | $27,390 | $21,080 | $33,970 | $23,479 | $26,728 |
| West Virginia | 1,640 | $26,460 | $20,450 | $32,760 | $22,782 | $25,456 |
| Louisiana | 4,210 | $26,440 | $19,820 | $33,280 | $22,976 | $26,048 |
| Mississippi | 2,880 | $26,300 | $19,240 | $30,190 | $22,948 | $26,391 |
| Puerto Rico | 1,820 | $23,020 | $21,840 | $25,750 | — | — |
| Guam | 330 | $21,030 | $20,450 | $34,940 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-9021. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.