Bartenders
Median $34,340
Occupation · SOC 35-3041
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant: pay and where the jobs are
What food servers, nonrestaurant earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$35,360 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $36,140
- Median hourly wage
- $17.00
- Mean hourly wage
- $17.37
- Employment
- 293,900
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-3041.
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See where your pay falls among food servers, nonrestaurant nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do food servers, nonrestaurant make?
The median annual wage for food servers, nonrestaurant was $35,360 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $28,030 and the highest-paid 10% more than $46,120. As an hourly rate, the median is $17.00. About 293,900 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in New York ($39,370), California ($39,010) and Colorado ($38,900). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in North Dakota.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for food servers, nonrestaurant 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 | $28,030 | $13.48 | $2,336 | $2,058 |
| 25th percentile | $31,190 | $14.99 | $2,599 | $2,270 |
| Median | $35,360 | $17.00 | $2,947 | $2,549 |
| 75th percentile | $38,500 | $18.51 | $3,208 | $2,760 |
| 90th percentile | $46,120 | $22.17 | $3,843 | $3,270 |
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant: pay by state
53 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
$35,789 take-home in national prices
2
$32,889 take-home in national prices
3
$32,251 take-home in national prices
Where a median food servers, nonrestaurant paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 17,520 | $39,370 | $33,110 | $52,630 | $32,084 | $29,729 |
| California | 32,430 | $39,010 | $35,120 | $57,550 | $32,474 | $29,330 |
| Colorado | 7,750 | $38,900 | $31,860 | $51,440 | $32,262 | $31,306 |
| Washington | 8,050 | $38,870 | $35,050 | $50,910 | $32,873 | $30,719 |
| Alaska | 430 | $38,090 | $25,140 | $46,160 | $32,595 | $31,844 |
| District of Columbia | 1,260 | $37,920 | $36,400 | $54,650 | $31,540 | $28,698 |
| Hawaii | 880 | $37,920 | $31,250 | $68,170 | $31,275 | $28,445 |
| Maine | 540 | $37,680 | $31,570 | $45,000 | $31,300 | $32,251 |
| Vermont | 780 | $37,540 | $32,970 | $54,380 | $31,520 | $32,177 |
| North Dakota | 1,630 | $36,910 | $31,140 | $46,320 | $31,837 | $35,789 |
| Massachusetts | 5,830 | $36,750 | $33,990 | $47,630 | $29,922 | $28,293 |
| New Hampshire | 1,770 | $36,710 | $28,710 | $46,090 | $31,676 | $30,410 |
| Maryland | 6,600 | $36,650 | $31,840 | $42,930 | $30,253 | $28,824 |
| Oregon | 4,420 | $36,620 | $33,240 | $48,660 | $29,211 | $28,261 |
| New Jersey | 11,400 | $36,390 | $32,220 | $43,800 | $30,556 | $28,083 |
| Nevada | 1,820 | $36,030 | $29,110 | $51,000 | $31,130 | $31,137 |
| Minnesota | 11,090 | $36,000 | $31,760 | $44,370 | $29,840 | $30,257 |
| Connecticut | 5,050 | $35,950 | $34,040 | $42,850 | $29,923 | $28,881 |
| New Mexico | 670 | $35,740 | $29,750 | $45,190 | $30,328 | $32,889 |
| Arizona | 4,620 | $35,390 | $31,400 | $46,370 | $30,125 | $29,922 |
| Virginia | 7,420 | $35,090 | $29,040 | $42,930 | $29,171 | $28,853 |
| Illinois | 17,560 | $35,080 | $31,200 | $41,960 | $28,775 | $28,787 |
| Rhode Island | 1,020 | $34,860 | $31,320 | $42,990 | $29,116 | $28,467 |
| Wisconsin | 6,680 | $34,670 | $28,640 | $44,080 | $29,216 | $31,050 |
| Michigan | 7,700 | $34,260 | $28,730 | $38,180 | $28,503 | $29,623 |
| Idaho | 930 | $34,220 | $27,980 | $39,210 | $28,970 | $30,337 |
| Florida | 19,240 | $33,930 | $29,210 | $39,000 | $29,443 | $28,471 |
| Pennsylvania | 13,940 | $33,300 | $27,450 | $42,980 | $27,891 | $28,585 |
| Wyoming | 250 | $33,090 | $21,840 | $42,740 | $28,768 | $31,036 |
| Kentucky | 3,660 | $32,200 | $25,790 | $42,060 | $27,043 | $29,995 |
| Montana | 1,050 | $32,090 | $23,010 | $38,210 | $27,213 | $28,752 |
| South Dakota | 160 | $31,980 | $26,810 | $43,070 | $27,876 | $31,468 |
| Indiana | 3,900 | $31,840 | $26,360 | $38,350 | $26,854 | $28,773 |
| Missouri | 7,490 | $31,840 | $28,600 | $38,370 | $27,204 | $29,955 |
| South Carolina | 2,990 | $31,740 | $19,100 | $37,480 | $27,350 | $29,174 |
| Nebraska | 3,800 | $31,540 | $28,790 | $38,510 | $26,945 | $29,905 |
| Georgia | 4,970 | $31,530 | $25,850 | $39,610 | $26,690 | $27,717 |
| North Carolina | 8,820 | $31,460 | $23,760 | $40,110 | $26,712 | $28,318 |
| Delaware | 1,010 | $31,430 | $31,200 | $44,730 | $26,241 | $26,291 |
| Tennessee | 5,230 | $30,670 | $22,620 | $46,750 | $26,823 | $29,197 |
| Ohio | 15,320 | $30,440 | $26,450 | $38,310 | $26,252 | $28,297 |
| Utah | 2,430 | $30,170 | $23,120 | $41,600 | $25,890 | $26,187 |
| West Virginia | 460 | $30,170 | $22,480 | $38,280 | $25,689 | $28,704 |
| Iowa | 5,270 | $30,110 | $27,020 | $36,600 | $25,881 | $29,490 |
| Virgin Islands | Not published | $29,760 | $27,240 | $71,660 | — | — |
| Texas | 14,340 | $29,300 | $21,930 | $36,930 | $25,723 | $26,503 |
| Kansas | 1,270 | $29,040 | $21,770 | $35,250 | $24,667 | $27,387 |
| Alabama | 2,920 | $29,000 | $23,080 | $35,770 | $24,353 | $27,417 |
| Oklahoma | 1,760 | $28,490 | $23,030 | $37,850 | $24,335 | $27,703 |
| Arkansas | 3,540 | $27,600 | $23,920 | $34,430 | $23,801 | $27,378 |
| Mississippi | 1,860 | $27,250 | $19,940 | $34,270 | $23,692 | $27,247 |
| Louisiana | 2,380 | $27,200 | $18,580 | $32,540 | $23,579 | $26,732 |
| Puerto Rico | 540 | $21,840 | $21,840 | $24,690 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-3041. *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.