Server Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 28,843 US job postings by 3,468 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for servers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 28,843 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for servers in US job postings is $16.90 an hour (3,974 postings from 698 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $13.42 to $19.00 an hour.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $16.85 an hour (523 postings).
- The skills that most set server postings apart are friendly, pos system, customer service.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 1 year of experience.
Server job postings in the US, October 2026
- $16.90/hr
- Median advertised pay (3,974 postings)
- $13.42–$19.00
- Middle 50% of postings
- $16.85/hr
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 28,843
- US job postings from 3,468 employers
How much does a server make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $16.90 an hour, from 3,974 US job postings by 698 employers that state pay. That is about $35,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 3,974 US server job postings: median $35,000 a year ($16.90 an hour), middle half $28,000 to $40,000.
- Median: $35,000 ($16.90/hr)
- 25th percentile: $28,000
- 75th percentile: $40,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 6.4% |
| $20K–$30K | 23.1% |
| $30K–$40K | 45.6% |
| $40K–$50K | 15.6% |
| $50K–$60K | 4.3% |
| $60K–$70K | 1.6% |
| $70K–$80K | 0.6% |
| $80K–$90K | 0.4% |
| $100K–$110K | 0.1% |
| $110K–$120K | 0.1% |
| $120K–$130K | 0.1% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.0% |
| $150K–$160K | 0.0% |
| $170K–$180K | 0.2% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.0% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.0% |
| $230K–$240K | 0.0% |
| $350K–$360K | 0.2% |
| $380K–$390K | 0.0% |
| $390K–$400K | 0.6% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $16.90 | $13.42–$19.00 | 2,289 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $35,000 | $28K–$40K | 3,974 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Waiters and Waitresses (35-3031) at $35,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a server?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $16.85 an hour (523 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $16.85/hr | 523 |
| 2-4 years | $16.90/hr | 362 |
| 5+ years | withheld | 19 |
Highest-paying server jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waiter | $18.00/hr | 317 | 29 |
| Banquet Server | $17.09/hr | 255 | 124 |
| Server (general) | $16.90/hr | 2,846 | 470 |
Server pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $19.50/hr | $17.13–$21.30 | 144 | 1.3% |
| California | $17.52/hr | $16.90–$19.00 | 650 | 7.4% |
| Texas | $17.30/hr | $13.62–$22.50 | 137 | 10.1% |
| New York | $14.93/hr | $11.35–$18.18 | 333 | 3.2% |
| Colorado | $14.09/hr | $12.14–$16.27 | 180 | 2.1% |
| Florida | $14.00/hr | $11.86–$18.13 | 132 | 7.0% |
Skills employers ask for in server job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 28% |
| Customer service | 21% |
| Attention to detail | 15% |
| Friendly | 12% |
| Positive attitude | 12% |
| Interpersonal skills | 11% |
| Teamwork | 9% |
| Team player | 7% |
| Multitask | 7% |
| Pos system | 6% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set servers apart
- Friendly9.3× as often as in all postings · 12%
- Pos system24.8× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Positive attitude3.5× as often as in all postings · 12%
- Multitask3.2× as often as in all postings · 7%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a server job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a server do?
Employers post these jobs as Banquet Server, Restaurant Server, Dining Room Server, Cocktail Server, Dining Server and other titles. The largest specializations are Banquet Server (4%), Dining Room Server (4%), Restaurant Server (3%), Cocktail Server (2%), Waiter (10%), Food Runner (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Waiters and Waitresses (35-3031.00). Its most important tasks:
- Collect payments from customers.
- Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
- Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
- Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
- Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a server?
Among 1,755 postings that state a minimum, the median is 1 year. Under 1% say 0 years and 57% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,755 US server job postings: median 1 year, and 57% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 7% |
| 1 yr | 49% |
| 2 yrs | 31% |
| 3-4 yrs | 8% |
| 5-7 yrs | 3% |
| 8-9 yrs | under 1% |
| 10+ yrs | 1% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Part-time 63%, Full-time 37% of the 1,293 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a server: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Server | 2,369 (68.3%) |
| Banquet Server | 313 (9.0%) |
| Restaurant Server | 222 (6.4%) |
| Dining Room Server | 92 (2.6%) |
| Cocktail Server | 79 (2.3%) |
| Dining Server | 71 (2.1%) |
| Banquet Captain | 68 (2.0%) |
| Breakfast Server | 57 (1.6%) |
| Lead Server | 53 (1.5%) |
| AM Server | 47 (1.4%) |
| Catering Server | 46 (1.3%) |
| Beverage Server | 45 (1.3%) |
| Wait Staff | 44 (1.3%) |
| Event Server | 43 (1.2%) |
| Food Server | 43 (1.2%) |
| Part Time Server | 39 (1.1%) |
| On Call Banquet Server | 38 (1.1%) |
| Fine Dining Server | 35 (1.0%) |
| In Room Dining Server | 35 (1.0%) |
| Servers | 30 (0.9%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Server job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Server | 681 | 222 | – | – | communication, customer service, attention to detail |
| Banquet Server | 816 | 313 | – | – | communication, customer service, attention to detail |
Server compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Server | $16.90/hr | 1 year | 28,843 | – |
| Bartender | $16.85/hr | 1 year | 12,786 | 19 |
| Host | $16.58/hr | 1 year | 11,859 | 16 |
| Cashier | $16.50/hr | 1 year | 36,744 | 18 |
| Recreation Attendant | $17.13/hr | – | 2,760 | 15 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Bartender | 19 | $16.85/hr |
| Host | 16 | $16.58/hr |
| Cashier | 18 | $16.50/hr |
| Recreation Attendant | 15 | $17.13/hr |
| Barista | 15 | $17.28/hr |
| Retail Sales Associate | 16 | $17.24/hr |
Applying for server jobs?
- Server resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find server jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
What are the highest-paying server jobs?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.