Server salary

Average server salary

$14.38

$29,901 yearly

Entry-level server salary
$21,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a server make?

The average server salary in the United States is $29,901. Server salaries typically range between $21,000 and $42,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for servers is $14.38 per hour.

Server salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Servers earn the highest average salary in New York.

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Server salary by: 

Where can a Server earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Vs
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54k
34k
14k
-6k
Columbus, OH$40,480
Raleigh, NC$23,710
Compare salary by company
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Vs
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68k
48k
28k
8k
Dell$49,598
City Year$37,865

Server salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor and Ziprecruiter, the average salary for a server typically falls between $21,583 and $57,195.
zippia
$29,901yearly
glassdoor[1]
$57,195yearly
indeed[2]
$33,872yearly
Salary.com[3]
$21,583yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$31,910yearly

Average server salary by state

The average server salary in New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average server salary states are Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Mississippi.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for servers

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Arizona$30,663$14.74
2West Virginia$29,566$14.21
3New York$36,333$17.47
4Massachusetts$36,211$17.41
5Vermont$35,964$17.29
6District of Columbia$40,482$19.46
7New Jersey$32,712$15.73
8California$34,392$16.53
9Michigan$27,801$13.37
10Washington$33,958$16.33
11Oregon$32,456$15.60
12Pennsylvania$28,367$13.64
13Rhode Island$31,758$15.27
14Nevada$25,707$12.36
15Maryland$30,542$14.68
16Connecticut$31,860$15.32
17Maine$31,180$14.99
18New Hampshire$28,521$13.71
19Colorado$27,491$13.22
20Delaware$29,806$14.33
21Ohio$24,304$11.68
22Minnesota$28,351$13.63
23Missouri$25,394$12.21
24Kentucky$23,933$11.51
25Virginia$27,584$13.26
26Indiana$23,552$11.32
27Utah$24,169$11.62
28Florida$23,627$11.36
29Kansas$23,718$11.40
30Texas$23,294$11.20
31North Dakota$25,552$12.28
32Illinois$24,886$11.96
33Tennessee$22,666$10.90
34North Carolina$23,463$11.28
35Idaho$24,650$11.85
36Arkansas$23,922$11.50
37Wyoming$23,122$11.12
38Hawaii$29,032$13.96
39Georgia$23,554$11.32
40Oklahoma$22,262$10.70
41South Carolina$22,121$10.64
42Alaska$24,865$11.95
43New Mexico$23,219$11.16
44Iowa$22,311$10.73
45Wisconsin$21,866$10.51
46South Dakota$22,303$10.72
47Alabama$21,595$10.38
48Mississippi$21,654$10.41
49Louisiana$20,657$9.93
50Montana$20,840$10.02
51Nebraska$21,723$10.44

Highest paying cities for servers

The highest-paying cities for servers are Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Boston, MA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Washington, DC$40,480$19.46
2New York, NY$36,327$17.46
3Boston, MA$36,188$17.40
4San Francisco, CA$35,493$17.06
5Seattle, WA$34,127$16.41
6Portland, OR$32,261$15.51
7Portland, ME$31,291$15.04
8Glendale, AZ$30,741$14.78
9Philadelphia, PA$28,590$13.75
10Washington, MI$28,163$13.54
11Austin, MN$27,928$13.43
12Colorado Springs, CO$27,526$13.23
13Las Vegas, NV$25,580$12.30
14Saint Louis, MO$25,522$12.27
15Chicago, IL$24,976$12.01
16Columbus, OH$23,953$11.52
17Jacksonville, AR$23,899$11.49
18Kansas City, KS$23,753$11.42
19Jacksonville, FL$23,719$11.40
20Raleigh, NC$23,710$11.40

Servers are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Washington, DC
  2. New York, NY
  3. Boston, MA
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. Seattle, WA

Server salary details

A server's salary ranges from $21,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $42,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Server Salary Graph
Average Server Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a server's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$42,000$3,500$20
75th Percentile$35,000$2,917$17
Average$29,901$2,492$14
25th Percentile$24,000$2,000$12
10th Percentile$21,000$1,750$10

Highest paying server jobs

The highest paying types of servers are caterer/server, bartender server, and fine dining server.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Waitress$24,770$2,064$11.9187,315
Food Runner$25,536$2,128$12.28240,853
Room Service Server$26,717$2,226$12.84144,551
Server And Hostess$28,020$2,335$13.4797,109
Fine Dining Server$32,140$2,678$15.4577,549
Dining Room Server$29,540$2,462$14.2099,079

Which companies pay servers the most?

Server salaries at Dell and University of California, Berkeley are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average server salary at companies like Tableau and The Culinary Institute of America are highly competitive.

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$32,000$31,600$31,200$30,800$30,400$30,000
MaleFemale

Server salary trends

The average server salary has risen by $6,512 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average server earned $23,389 annually, but today, they earn $29,901 a year. That works out to a 19% change in pay for servers over the last decade.

Compare server salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average server salary over time

Compare server salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Server salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$29,900$14.38+3.6%
2024$28,800$13.86+4.8%
2023$27,400$13.19+4.4%
2022$26,200$12.61+4.0%
2021$25,200$12.10+3.7%

Recently added server salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Chili'sHost-Laramie-BighornLaramie, WY12/18/2024$20,870
Chili'sServer-Hamilton Quarter-Chili'sColumbus, OH12/17/2024$20,870
Delaware North CompaniesServer, Everbank StadiumJacksonville, FL12/17/2024$31,305
J.F. SheaGate HostLas Vegas, NV12/17/2024$37,566
Farmers Restaurant GroupServer-ChinatownWashington, DC12/17/2024$52,175
Arvum Senior Living LLCServerShiloh, IL12/17/2024$31,305
Brookdale Senior LivingServerEdina, MN12/16/2024$26,234
Brookdale Senior LivingServerSan Jose, CA12/16/2024$38,610
Brookdale Senior LivingServerGastonia, NC12/16/2024$24,794
Brookdale Senior LivingServerOverland Park, KS12/16/2024$31,305

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