Waiters and Waitresses salary

What Waiters and Waitresses earn across the United States and in the largest metro areas — the official BLS OEWS May 2025 figures.

National wages — United States

Nationally, BLS estimates 2,270,910 Waiters and Waitresses jobs — 1.5% of all US employment. The national median wage is $35,230 a year ($16.94 an hour) and the mean is $40,060 a year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026.

Wage level	Hourly	Annual
Mean	$19.26	$40,060
10th percentile	$8.70	$18,100
25th percentile	$13.34	$27,750
Median (50th percentile)	$16.94	$35,230
75th percentile	$22.65	$47,110
90th percentile	$31.12	$64,720

Median pay by metro area

Metro area	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment	vs US median
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$57,280	$27.54	26,530	+62.6%
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$54,780	$26.34	13,910	+55.5%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$47,610	$22.89	138,720	+35.1%
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$47,530	$22.85	39,920	+34.9%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$46,040	$22.14	46,160	+30.7%
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$39,650	$19.06	20,750	+12.5%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$39,270	$18.88	41,570	+11.5%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$38,860	$18.69	29,080	+10.3%
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$37,490	$18.02	29,210	+6.4%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$37,070	$17.82	25,280	+5.2%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$36,570	$17.58	41,900	+3.8%
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$36,430	$17.51	19,990	+3.4%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$36,170	$17.39	19,590	+2.7%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$36,070	$17.34	57,830	+2.4%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$35,850	$17.24	85,210	+1.8%
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$35,850	$17.23	24,050	+1.8%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$35,410	$17.03	36,820	+0.5%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$34,800	$16.73	20,810	-1.2%
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$31,200	$15.00	54,100	-11.4%
St. Louis, MO-IL	$31,200	$15.00	20,170	-11.4%
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$27,260	$13.10	19,170	-22.6%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$25,920	$12.46	25,620	-26.4%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$24,160	$11.61	53,460	-31.4%
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$22,080	$10.61	51,330	-37.3%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$18,460	$8.88	45,880	-47.6%

Each metro page carries the full OEWS wage distribution, the employment figures, and the estimated take-home pay on that metro's median under 2026 tax rules.

Sources

Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. Take-home estimates are computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 rules.