Waiters and Waitresses salary in the US
From the median paycheck to the top 10%, this page breaks down earnings for waiters and waitresses using American Community Survey records.
How much do waiters and waitresses earn?
If you lined up all waiters and waitresses by pay, the person in the middle would earn about $23,865 a year — 55% less than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. It places 163rd of 171 on median earnings — part of the bottom quarter, where part-time schedules are common. Behind these numbers are 44,257 survey records — a large enough sample to break the results down further below.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $53,696 |
| Top 25% start at | $36,731 |
| Median (top 50%) | $23,865 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $12,220 |
How wide is the pay range?
Earnings stretch a long way above the middle. The top-quarter line is roughly $36,731, and it takes $53,696 or more — 2.2 times typical pay — to make the top 10%. At the other end, a quarter of waiters and waitresses earned $12,220 or less, which partly reflects part-time and part-year work — the survey counts everyone with earnings, not only full-time staff. That leaves a 2.0-to-1 ratio between the median and the 25th percentile.
Earnings by age
Mid-career workers out-earn new entrants, but not dramatically — the median goes from $23,298 (25–34) to $25,381 (35–44). Among those 65 and older who still work, the median is $15,742, 38% below the peak — reduced schedules explain much of that.
Men and women
Men's median earnings are $30,458 and women's are $21,478, so women's median is 29% lower. Women make up roughly 71% of the survey records here (an unweighted count, so treat it as approximate). Differences in hours, specialty and seniority account for part of any gap, which the survey doesn't separate out.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $30,458 | 12,845 |
| Women | $21,478 | 31,412 |
Does education change the pay?
Education shifts pay modestly here: medians range from $22,344 (a high school education or less) to $28,427 (a bachelor's degree). Most workers surveyed in this job have a high school education or less (20,731 records); any level under 100 records is blank in the table.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $22,344 | 20,731 |
| Some college / associate | $24,366 | 15,794 |
| Bachelor's | $28,427 | 6,436 |
| Master's | $25,381 | 1,002 |
| Professional degree | $25,187 | 201 |
| Doctorate | Not shown (<100 records) | 93 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Illinois contribute the largest numbers of survey records for this job. The state medians range from $21,478 in Texas up to $27,930 in California. State figures aren't price-adjusted; 45 states have a large enough sample to report.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $27,930 | 6,205 |
| Florida | $26,884 | 4,070 |
| Texas | $21,478 | 3,506 |
| New York | $27,286 | 3,110 |
| Illinois | $23,461 | 1,691 |
Occupations with similar pay
Similar typical earnings show up for home health aides ($23,388), teaching assistants ($24,366), cooks ($24,366), and manicurists and pedicurists ($24,440). Similar pay doesn't mean similar work — training, hours and risk differ — but it's a useful reference when weighing a move.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health Aides | $23,388 | −2% |
| Teaching Assistants | $24,366 | +2% |
| Cooks | $24,366 | +2% |
| Manicurists And Pedicurists | $24,440 | +2% |
| Personal Care Aides | $24,461 | +2% |
About these figures
About the data: the American Community Survey asks people their occupation and earnings; we pool the 2020–2024 responses, convert them to 2024 dollars, and weight each person to represent the population. The 44,257 records for waiters and waitresses include part-time workers, so these are annual totals rather than full-time salaries.
See where your pay ranks among waiters and waitresses
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.