Updated September 5, 2025
Restaurant owners and operators face a challenging job market. Competition for high-quality workers is fierce, turnover is high, and restaurant industry pay has gone up a whole lot in just a few years. Of course, you still need top-notch servers, talented cooks, friendly front-of-house folks, and reliable dishwashers.
So the best thing you can really do is arm yourself with up-to-date information on restaurant salaries. We wanted to know what actual restaurants are paying their employees these days, so we consulted the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS is the unit of the U.S. Department of Labor that keeps track of everything that we earn, and how we earn it.
The most recent numbers for restaurant industry pay are from May of 2024. We can’t tell you what to pay your employees, but we can tell you the pay range that other restaurant professionals are making throughout the U.S.
Wide Variations in Restaurant Industry Pay
Before we get to the actual numbers, we should point out that both hourly and annual pay for kitchen workers vary widely. There are all kinds of factors that may be causing this variation including:
- Type of restaurant (for instance, fine dining vs. fast casual)
- Average check size
- Geographical location (for instance, quiet rural diner vs. high-traffic city restaurant)
- Seasonality
This is why we’ve taken the time to show how much the lowest 10 percent of earners and the highest 10 percent of earners make in each role alongside a median or average* annual and hourly wage. Still, because of these variations, you should do your own research on what competitors are paying employees in your region and niche.
*We used the numbers provided by the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. In some cases, this includes the average (or mean) annual and hourly pay for workers. In other cases, the BLS provides only the median salary (the exact middle point between the highest and lowest pay rate).
Standard Restaurant Industry Pay for Front-of-House workers
Front-of-house staffers typically earn a combination of hourly wages and tips. This means there is some wiggle room in how you pay workers. There may be different minimum wage rules for workers who earn part of their income from tips.
Therefore, every restaurant owner should review the Wages and Fair Labor Standards Act Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to be sure they are in compliance with the latest rules. In addition, every state has its own rules about the minimum wage requirements for tipped workers. Make sure you are familiar with your state’s rules.
Also note that all hourly and yearly salaries provided by the BLS include earnings from tips in their calculations.
Hosts
Hosts should be friendly, welcoming, and excellent at juggling multiple tasks — like booking reservations, estimating wait times, and seating guests — at once.
- Restaurant hosts pull in an average of $14.78 per hour, or $30,750 a year.
- The lowest 10 percent of earners make $10.35 per hour.
- The highest earning 10 percent make $18.67 per hour.
Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics includes a category called Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers. This category includes bussers, food runners, barbacks, fast food workers, counter workers, and dining room attendants.
- Food and beverage serving and related workers make a median hourly pay of $14.92, or $31,040 per year.
- The lowest earning 10 percent of workers earn less than $10.88 per hour.
- The highest paid 10 percent earn more than $19.65 per hour.
Servers
Servers are the backbone of the dining room, explaining the menu, taking orders, running food, communicating with the kitchen, cleaning tables, and in some cases bursting into song (looking at you, Red Robin birthday crew).
You’ll note that servers also have one of the broadest pay ranges in the business with factors like average check size, geographic location, restaurant type playing a major part in earnings.
- Servers earn an average hourly wage of $16.23 with a median annual wage of $33,760.
- The lowest 10 percent of earners make less than $8.89 per hour.
- The highest-earning 10 percent of servers clear over $30.06 per hour.
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Bartenders
Whether you call them bartenders, barkeeps, or mixologists, the basic job is the same: make drinks and chat up the customers at the bar. Like servers, bartenders have an extremely wide range of earning potential due to factors like average check size, geographic location, and restaurant type.
- Bartenders earn a median hourly pay of $16.12, or a median of $33,530 per year.
- The lowest 10 percent of earners make less than $9.58 per hour tending bar.
- The highest earning 10 percent of bartenders make more than $34.58 an hour.
Managers
Assistant and general managers work together to handle a wide variety of both front-of-house and back-of-house responsibilities. Managers may communicate with food suppliers, manage daily operations, oversee inventory, and ensure that diners leave happy. Managers are also responsible for personnel matters including hiring, firing, and shift scheduling.
According to federal law, managers may not take part in a tip pool, which is the total amount of money tipped to and divided among employees for each shift. This means the figures listed below are earned entirely through hourly or salaried compensation.
- Food services managers in all categories earn a median hourly pay of $31.40, for an annual median salary of $65,310
- The lowest 10 percent of earners pull in less than $42,380 per year.
- The highest-paid 10 percent of managers earn more than $105,420.
- General managers for restaurants and other food service settings make an average annual salary of $71,570.
Standard Restaurant Industry Pay for Back-of-House Workers
The back of house staff refers to the people who make your kitchen run. This includes dishwashers, cooks, and chefs. Back-of-house employees don’t get tipped, so their income is earned entirely though hourly or salaried wages.
Dishwashers
This is an entry-level role but an important one. Your kitchen needs fast, thorough, and reliable dishwashers on every shift to ensure that there are always enough plates, silverware, and cookware to handle customer demand.
- Dishwashers earn a median of $15 per hour, for a median annual wage of $31,200.
- The bottom 10 percent of earners make less than $11 washing dishes.
- The top 10 percent of earners make more than $18.57 an hour.
Food Preparation Workers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food preparation workers are those who perform kitchen prep tasks other than cooking. This can include prepping cold foods, brewing coffee, slicing meat, peeling vegetables, and more.
- Food preparation workers make a median hourly pay of $16.45, or $34,220 per year.
- Those in the lowest 10 percent make less than $11.29 per hour.
- The highest earning 10 percent of food prep workers make more than $21.28 per hour.
Line Cooks
Line cooks are trained professionals who prepare the dishes that go out to diners. Line cooks typically work under the supervision of a sous or executive chef and are usually assigned a specific position, such as the grill cook, fry cook, or vegetable prep.
- Cooks make a median hourly wage of $17.19, which amounts to a median pay of $35,760 per year.
- The lowest 10 percent of earners make less than $12.00 per hour as cooks.
- The highest 10 percent of line cooks make more than $22.45 an hour.
Executive Chefs
An executive chef is the kitchen’s creative leader, and defines the restaurant’s concept and style. Chefs also run the kitchen’s daily operations and are responsible for the quality of the food. Head cooks and executive chefs also typically take a lead role in creating recipes and dishes.
- Chefs and head cooks make a median annual salary of $60,990.
- The lowest earning 10 percent of chefs make less than $36,000 per year.
- The highest earning 10 percent of chefs clear more than $96,030 a year.
Keeping Up With Rising Restaurant Salaries
Now that you know what it costs to keep your restaurant fully staffed, how can you build and keep a reliable team?
- You can start by checking out leading restaurant recruitment and hiring services like Poached.
- You can ensure a high level of employee satisfaction by using smart labor management solutions like 7shifts.
- Or you can reach out directly to one of our in-house tech experts for personalized guidance.
