The Best (and Worst) Paying States for Restaurant Staff in 2021

The US employs over 8.1 million restaurant workers who earn an average salary of $24,861—that’s 54% less than all occupations across the country.¹

Beyond the low pay, the restaurant industry—and its workers—faces severe challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the pandemic began, over 110,000 restaurants shut down, whether long term or permanently.² On top of that, 46.7% of people are eating out more.³ 

With added pressures, safety precautions, inconsistent work, or unemployment, restaurant workers struggle to find stability during the pandemic.

To raise awareness and help those in the restaurant business who may be seeking a new gig, we found the best (and worst) paying areas for restaurant jobs in the US. (We included all 50 states and Washington DC.)

We looked at the average salary for servers, bartenders, dishwashers, and other restaurant jobs to find a weighted average. We then ranked each state by comparing the average restaurant staff salary to the average income for all occupations. We also have a page for Best Paying States for US Teachers you can check out.

In every state, restaurant workers earn less than the average salary for all other occupations. From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, we see that restaurant workers make up 55.6 out of every 1,000 jobs nationally.

Virginia has the worst pay for restaurant workers, with an average salary of $22,894 (60% less than all other occupations). The other lowest-paying states for restaurant staff include Rhode Island, Georgia, and Maryland, which all paid nearly 60% less than all occupations.

Puerto Rico had the lowest average salary in the nation ($18,047), followed by Alabama, Louisiana, Guam, and South Carolina, which all paid an average of less than $20,000 a year.

Where does your state stack up when it comes to restaurant staff salaries? Does it pay better or less than the national average?

To calculate the average restaurant staff salary, we used each restaurant occupation’s annual salary and the number of persons employed to create a weighted average. We included servers, fast food workers, bartenders, dishwashers, hosts, and hostesses to create our report.