Do servers or bartenders make more?
The short answer
United States: the national estimate
Waiters and waitresses (BLS 35-3031)
$16.94 median an hour
Half earned between $13.34 and $22.65.
Bartenders (BLS 35-3011)
$16.51 median an hour
Half earned between $13.17 and $22.87.
May 2025 data, released May 15, 2026. Employer-estimated, includes reported tips. BLS counts tips in these figures, but the numbers come from employers’ estimates, so they may not reflect all the tips servers and bartenders receive. BLS’s survey form asks restaurants to estimate each worker’s base pay plus tips. BLS reports hourly figures; most servers and bartenders don’t work a full-time year, so we don’t convert them to annual pay.
The federal floor under both jobs is the same: an employer can pay a tipped employee a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour and count tips toward the rest of the $7.25 minimum, as long as wages plus tips reach $7.25. Your state may set a higher floor; see the columns below or server minimum wage by state.
By state
BLS median hourly wage estimates, May 2025, employer-estimated, includes reported tips. BLS counts tips in these figures, but the numbers come from employers’ estimates, so they may not reflect all the tips servers and bartenders receive. Where a median sits at or below the state minimum wage, or DOL lists several minimum rates, we show “—”: the published estimate sits at the legal minimum, so it likely doesn’t capture tips. Minimum and tipped cash wage are from the DOL tables. States are listed alphabetically, not ranked.
| State | Minimum wage | Tipped cash wage | Servers (BLS median) | Bartenders (BLS median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $7.25 | $2.13 | $12.91 | $13.45 |
| Alaska | $14.00 | $14.00 | — | $14.65 |
| Arizona | $15.15 | $12.15 | $21.13 | $21.67 |
| Arkansas | $11.00 | $2.63 | $11.86 | $12.06 |
| California | $16.90 | $16.90 | $17.35 | $17.41 |
| Colorado | $15.16 | $12.14 | $21.57 | $18.35 |
| Connecticut | $16.94 | Hotel, restaurant: $6.38; Bartenders who customarily receive tips: $8.23 | — | — |
| Delaware | $15.00 | $2.23 | $17.73 | $17.71 |
| District of Columbia | $18.40 | $10.30 | $23.01 | $25.92 |
| Florida | $14.00 | $10.98 | $17.38 | $16.90 |
| Georgia | $7.25 | $2.13 | $8.99 | $10.98 |
| Hawaii | $16.00 | $14.75 | $29.99 | $36.78 |
| Idaho | $7.25 | $3.35 | $14.45 | $13.10 |
| Illinois | $15.00 | $9.00 | — | — |
| Indiana | $7.25 | $2.13 | $13.69 | $10.95 |
| Iowa | $7.25 | $4.35 | $10.10 | $10.44 |
| Kansas | $7.25 | $2.13 | $17.36 | $13.43 |
| Kentucky | $7.25 | $2.13 | $14.26 | $13.84 |
| Louisiana | $7.25 | $2.13 | — | $10.02 |
| Maine | $15.10 | $7.55 | $20.85 | $23.52 |
| Maryland | $15.00 | $3.63 | $17.67 | $18.07 |
| Massachusetts | $15.00 | $6.75 | $18.49 | $18.00 |
| Michigan | $13.73 | $5.49 | $18.16 | $17.68 |
| Minnesota | $11.41 | $11.41 | $12.25 | $12.93 |
| Mississippi | $7.25 | $2.13 | $10.27 | $13.62 |
| Missouri | $15.00 | $7.50 | — | — |
| Montana | $10.85 (sales over $110,000); $4.00 (non-FLSA, sales of $110,000 or less) | same as MW (full MW) | — | — |
| Nebraska | $15.00 | $2.13 | $16.24 | — |
| Nevada | $12.00 | $12.00 | $12.70 | $13.20 |
| New Hampshire | $7.25 | $3.27 | $18.48 | $13.85 |
| New Jersey | $15.92; $15.23 for employers with fewer than 6 and for seasonal | $6.05 | — | — |
| New Mexico | $12.00 | $3.00 | $17.75 | $17.78 |
| New York | $17.00 (NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester); $16.00 (remainder) | DOL does not state it: "Tipped workers' minimum wage rates vary by region and type of employer. See New York's Minimum Wage: Overview." | — | — |
| North Carolina | $7.25 | $2.13 | $15.46 | $17.53 |
| North Dakota | $7.25 | $4.86 | $14.85 | $13.96 |
| Ohio | $11.00 (gross receipts of $405,000 or more); $7.25 (under $405,000) | $5.50 | — | — |
| Oklahoma | $7.25 (10+ full-time at a location or sales over $100,000); $2.00 other employers | $2.13 | — | — |
| Oregon | $15.55 (standard); $16.80 (Portland Metro); $14.55 (non-urban counties) | same as MW (full MW) | — | — |
| Pennsylvania | $7.25 | $2.83 | $16.68 | $13.66 |
| Rhode Island | $16.00 | $3.89 | $17.03 | $17.51 |
| South Carolina | $7.25 | $2.13 | $8.83 | $9.31 |
| South Dakota | $11.85 | $5.93 | $13.94 | $14.14 |
| Tennessee | $7.25 | $2.13 | $13.35 | $13.21 |
| Texas | $7.25 | $2.13 | $11.18 | $10.91 |
| Utah | $7.25 | $2.13 | $14.98 | $15.46 |
| Vermont | $14.42 | $7.21 | $28.43 | $21.85 |
| Virginia | $12.77 | $2.13 | $21.52 | $22.63 |
| Washington | $17.13 | $17.13 | $26.98 | $26.84 |
| West Virginia | $8.75 | $2.62 | $17.01 | $14.24 |
| Wisconsin | $7.25 | $2.33 | $14.26 | $11.28 |
| Wyoming | $7.25 | $2.13 | $11.50 | $10.59 |
Canada
Food and beverage servers (NOC 65200)
$18.50 median an hour
Half earned between $16.00 and $24.00.
Bartenders (NOC 64301)
$20.00 median an hour
Half earned between $16.75 and $25.00.
Job Bank Wages 2025 (open data CSV), revised November 19, 2025, Labour Force Survey 2023–2024. Job Bank says these figures include tips; they’re workers’ usual wages and may sit near the provincial minimum. These are Canadian dollars and aren’t comparable with the US figures above.
| Province | General minimum wage | Servers (Job Bank median) | Bartenders (Job Bank median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | $17.60 | — | $20.00 |
| British Columbia | $18.25 | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Quebec | $16.60 | $20.00 | $22.44 |
| Alberta | $15.00 | $18.00 | $20.00 |
| Saskatchewan | $15.35 | — | $17.00 |
| Manitoba | $16.00 | — | $17.00 |
| Nova Scotia | $16.75 | — | $18.00 |
| New Brunswick | $15.90 | $17.00 | $16.23 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $16.35 | $16.50 | $17.00 |
“—”: The published estimate sits at the legal minimum, so it likely doesn’t capture tips. Prince Edward Island isn’t shown because Job Bank’s server figure there comes from a different method than its bartender figure. Job Bank doesn’t publish these estimates for both jobs in the territories. Some provinces set special rates (Quebec has one for tipped employees); see server minimum wage in Canada by province.
What these numbers can’t tell you
- How much either job makes in tips per shift or per hour. Neither BLS nor Job Bank publishes that.
- What you’d make at a specific restaurant or bar. The figures are medians across a whole state or province.
- Whether pay went up or down over time. BLS and Job Bank both caution against comparing their figures year to year.
Official sources
- BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, waiters and waitresses (35-3031)
- BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, bartenders (35-3011)
- BLS: Technical notes for May 2025 OEWS estimates (tips are included in wages)
- Job Bank Wages 2025 open data (Employment and Social Development Canada)
- Job Bank: Wage methodology (Labour Force Survey wages include tips)
- U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum wages for tipped employees (state table)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSA
- Government of Canada: Current and forthcoming minimum hourly wage rates
Last verified
. Pulled BLS OEWS May 2025 medians and percentiles for 35-3031 and 35-3011 from the BLS API, and Job Bank’s 2025 wage file (revision 2025-11-19) for NOC 65200 and 64301. Floors are from the DOL tipped-wage table and the Government of Canada minimum wage database.