Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

35-3031 Waiters and Waitresses

Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment. Excludes "Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop" (35-3022).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
2,582,410	0.5 %	$12.42	$25,830	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$8.33	$9.05	$10.47	$13.60	$19.61
Annual Wage (2)	$17,330	$18,820	$21,780	$28,280	$40,780

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	2,102,220	19.66	$12.23	$25,440
Traveler Accommodation	156,740	7.84	$14.29	$29,730
Special Food Services	74,570	10.39	$14.34	$29,830
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries	70,640	5.40	$12.09	$25,150
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	63,390	16.20	$11.61	$24,160

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	2,102,220	19.66	$12.23	$25,440
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	63,390	16.20	$11.61	$24,160
Special Food Services	74,570	10.39	$14.34	$29,830
Traveler Accommodation	156,740	7.84	$14.29	$29,730
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water	900	5.52	$15.11	$31,420

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services	170	0.08	$21.96	$45,680
Grantmaking and Giving Services	70	0.05	$16.95	$35,260
Management of Companies and Enterprises	1,020	0.04	$15.81	$32,890
Employment Services	23,290	0.64	$15.13	$31,470
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water	900	5.52	$15.11	$31,420

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	286,930	16.87	0.95	$14.55	$30,250
Texas	216,670	17.89	1.00	$11.31	$23,520
Florida	211,860	24.61	1.38	$12.56	$26,120
New York	167,250	17.82	1.00	$16.57	$34,460
Pennsylvania	98,970	16.92	0.95	$11.95	$24,850

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	19,130	29.81	1.67	$25.05	$52,110
Nevada	37,400	27.76	1.56	$12.01	$24,980
Florida	211,860	24.61	1.38	$12.56	$26,120
Montana	10,260	22.15	1.24	$10.09	$20,990
Maine	12,890	21.29	1.19	$13.25	$27,550

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	19,130	29.81	1.67	$25.05	$52,110
District of Columbia	9,630	13.51	0.76	$23.14	$48,120
Washington	54,770	16.80	0.94	$17.27	$35,930
Vermont	5,590	18.33	1.03	$16.62	$34,560
New York	167,250	17.82	1.00	$16.57	$34,460

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	157,440	16.58	0.93	$16.38	$34,070
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	105,750	17.28	0.97	$13.70	$28,490
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	65,800	14.18	0.79	$11.23	$23,360
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	62,930	17.64	0.99	$10.98	$22,840
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	57,140	22.06	1.24	$12.62	$26,240
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	56,850	19.06	1.07	$12.57	$26,150
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	52,160	19.44	1.09	$9.82	$20,420
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	51,190	18.56	1.04	$15.53	$32,310
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	51,090	16.30	0.91	$14.09	$29,310
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	46,060	16.17	0.91	$12.14	$25,250