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Food and Beverage Serving Worker Salary in U.S.

The salary statistics of food and beverage serving workers are shown in Table 1. The average hourly salary of food and beverage serving workers in the United States is shown in Table 2. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of food and beverage serving workers within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The food and beverage serving workers annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].

Table 1. Food and Beverage Serving Worker Salary in U.S. (2022 survey)

Percentile BracketAverage Annual Salary
10th Percentile Wage
$20,370
25th Percentile Wage
$22,810
50th Percentile Wage
$28,440
75th Percentile Wage
$33,900
90th Percentile Wage
$42,370

Table 1 shows the average annual salary for food and beverage serving workers. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) food and beverage serving workers is $42,370. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $28,440. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $20,370. Notice that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 108% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.

Median salary trend (2012 to 2022)

The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of food and beverage serving workers from 2012 to 2022.

YearMedian SalaryYearly Growth10-Year Growth
2022
$28,440
8.58% 35.09%
2021
$26,000
7.50% -
2020
$24,050
4.66% -
2019
$22,930
5.36% -
2018
$21,700
5.53% -
2017
$20,500
3.66% -
2016
$19,750
3.24% -
2015
$19,110
2.51% -
2014
$18,630
0.54% -
2013
$18,530
0.38% -
2012
$18,460
- -

Table 2. Food and Beverage Serving Worker Salary by Industry Sector (2022 survey)

The average salaries of food and beverage serving workers in 20 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2. We note that the salaries vary considerably within different industry sectors. The highest paying industry sector for food and beverage serving workers occupations is the finance and insurance sector with an annual salary $47,500. The lowest paying sector is the utilities sector (annual salary $18,720).

Industry Sector Median Annual Salary
Finance and Insurance
$47,500
Management of Companies and Enterprises
$35,940
Federal, State, and Local Government
$34,420
Educational Services
$31,750
Health Care and Social Assistance
$30,950
Manufacturing
$30,460
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
$30,170
Retail Trade
$30,020
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
$29,480
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
$29,120
Mining
$28,660
Wholesale Trade
$28,620
Transportation and Warehousing
$28,380
Accommodation and Food Services
$28,230
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
$28,150
Construction
$27,790
Information
$27,560
Other Services (except Federal, State, and Local Government)
$26,090
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
$22,400
Utilities
$18,720

Table 3. Salaries of Food and Beverage Serving Worker Related Occupations

The average annual salary of food and beverage serving worker related occupations at the national level is given in Table 3. For more salary information about a specific occupation, use the links below.

Occupation Median Annual Salary
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
$30,300
Bartenders
$29,380
Waiters and Waitresses
$29,120
Fast Food and Counter Workers
$27,930
Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop
$22,330
Fast Food and Counter Workers
$21,460
Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food
$21,250

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💰 Highest paying industries for food and beverage serving workers.