Waiters and Waitresses Salary in Pennsylvania
The median annual wage for waiters and waitresses in Pennsylvania is $34,690 ($16.68 per hour) — -1.5% vs. the national median of $35,230. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $34,690
- Mean annual wage
- $38,110
- Median hourly wage
- $16.68
- Employment in PA
- 82,300
82,300 employed · 13.6 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in Pennsylvania
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18,400 | $8.85 |
| 25th percentile | $24,490 | $11.78 |
| Median (50th) | $34,690 | $16.68 |
| 75th percentile | $46,790 | $22.49 |
| 90th percentile | $61,780 | $29.70 |
What this salary is worth in Pennsylvania
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $35,553
- Median rent burden
- 41.8%
- Est. affordable home price
- $126,547
Pennsylvania prices are 97.6 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in Pennsylvania: $1,209/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $867/mo
At 6.67% 30-yr rate (FRED, 2026-08), 20% down, 28% front-end DTI, 1.5%/yr taxes+insurance
For context, the median home value in Pennsylvania is $254,500 (ACS 2020-2024).
Estimates from documented formulas — see methodology. Not financial advice.
Waiters and Waitresses salary in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other salaries in Pennsylvania
- Accountants and Auditors in Pennsylvania
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Pennsylvania
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Pennsylvania
- Cashiers in Pennsylvania
- Construction Laborers in Pennsylvania
- Cooks, Restaurant in Pennsylvania
- Customer Service Representatives in Pennsylvania
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Pennsylvania
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Pennsylvania
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Pennsylvania
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Pennsylvania
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Pennsylvania
- General and Operations Managers in Pennsylvania
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Pennsylvania
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Pennsylvania
- Human Resources Specialists in Pennsylvania
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Pennsylvania
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Pennsylvania
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Pennsylvania
- Light Truck Drivers in Pennsylvania
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Pennsylvania
- Management Analysts in Pennsylvania
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Pennsylvania
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Pennsylvania
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Pennsylvania
- Nursing Assistants in Pennsylvania
- Office Clerks, General in Pennsylvania
- Project Management Specialists in Pennsylvania
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in Pennsylvania
- Registered Nurses in Pennsylvania
- Retail Salespersons in Pennsylvania
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Pennsylvania
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Pennsylvania
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Pennsylvania
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Pennsylvania
- Security Guards in Pennsylvania
- Software Developers in Pennsylvania
- Stockers and Order Fillers in Pennsylvania
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Pennsylvania
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.
- Regional Price Parities — data period 2024, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates — data period 2020-2024, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Federal Reserve Economic Data — data period 2026-08, retrieved August 17, 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.