Bartenders Salary in the United States

The median annual wage for bartenders in the U.S. is $34,340 ($16.51 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.

Median annual wage: $34,340
Mean annual wage: $40,790
Median hourly wage: $16.51
Employment: 756,390

Wage percentiles

U.S. wage distribution for bartenders (OEWS May 2025).
Percentile	Annual wage	Hourly wage
10th percentile	$20,110	$9.67
25th percentile	$27,400	$13.17
Median (50th)	$34,340	$16.51
75th percentile	$47,570	$22.87
90th percentile	$73,770	$35.47

Highest-paying states for bartenders

State	Median annual wage	Employment
Hawaii	$76,490	3,540
New York	$61,210	43,130
Washington	$55,830	16,800
District of Columbia	$53,920	5,760
Maine	$48,920	3,230
Virginia	$47,070	13,370
Vermont	$45,450	2,080
Arizona	$45,070	14,840
New Jersey	$44,020	16,260
Oregon	$38,900	11,950

Lowest-paying states

South Carolina: $19,370 median annual wage
Louisiana: $20,850 median annual wage
Iowa: $21,720 median annual wage
Wyoming: $22,030 median annual wage
Texas: $22,690 median annual wage

Related occupations

Fast Food and Counter Workers$31,200
Waiters and Waitresses$35,230
Cooks, Restaurant$37,390
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$44,080
Food Preparation Workers$35,320
Cooks, Fast Food$30,890
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$33,980
Dishwashers$34,810

About this data

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.

Figures are shown exactly as published by the source or derived by the documented formulas on our methodology page. Where a source suppresses an estimate, we show “—” rather than a substitute value.