Food Servers, Nonrestaurant Salary in the United States

The median annual wage for food servers, nonrestaurant in the U.S. is $35,360 ($17.00 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.

Median annual wage: $35,360
Mean annual wage: $36,140
Median hourly wage: $17.00
Employment: 293,900

Wage percentiles

U.S. wage distribution for food servers, nonrestaurant (OEWS May 2025).
Percentile	Annual wage	Hourly wage
10th percentile	$28,030	$13.48
25th percentile	$31,190	$14.99
Median (50th)	$35,360	$17.00
75th percentile	$38,500	$18.51
90th percentile	$46,120	$22.17

Highest-paying states for food servers, nonrestaurant

State	Median annual wage	Employment
New York	$39,370	17,520
California	$39,010	32,430
Colorado	$38,900	7,750
Washington	$38,870	8,050
Alaska	$38,090	430
District of Columbia	$37,920	1,260
Hawaii	$37,920	880
Maine	$37,680	540
Vermont	$37,540	780
North Dakota	$36,910	1,630

Lowest-paying states

Louisiana: $27,200 median annual wage
Mississippi: $27,250 median annual wage
Arkansas: $27,600 median annual wage
Oklahoma: $28,490 median annual wage
Alabama: $29,000 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
Bartenders$34,340
Cooks, Fast Food$30,890
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$33,980

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.