Waiters and Waitresses · SOC 35-3031
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Waiters and Waitressess
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for waiters and waitresses. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 392 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $82,550 | 2,700 | 36.6 |
| 2 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $61,620 | 1,510 | 12.5 |
| 3 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $60,250 | 8,550 | 19.2 |
| 4 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $57,280 | 26,530 | 12.7 |
| 5 | Walla Walla, WA | $56,730 | 340 | 13.2 |
| 6 | Bellingham, WA | $56,700 | 1,450 | 15.9 |
| 7 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $55,270 | 1,370 | 14.6 |
| 8 | Longview-Kelso, WA | $54,870 | 410 | 9.9 |
| 9 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $54,780 | 13,910 | 11.5 |
| 10 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $53,060 | 830 | 15.8 |
| 11 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $53,000 | 1,410 | 10.9 |
| 12 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $51,460 | 1,510 | 11.7 |
| 13 | Bend, OR | $50,480 | 1,750 | 16.2 |
| 14 | Medford, OR | $50,440 | 1,130 | 12.7 |
| 15 | Boulder, CO | $49,870 | 2,670 | 13.9 |
| 16 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | $49,820 | 960 | 18.7 |
| 17 | Yakima, WA | $49,060 | 1,000 | 10.3 |
| 18 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $48,980 | 6,310 | 14.0 |
| 19 | Grants Pass, OR | $48,950 | 330 | 10.8 |
| 20 | Salem, OR | $48,720 | 1,850 | 9.8 |
| 21 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $48,560 | 3,420 | 13.4 |
| 22 | Syracuse, NY | $47,640 | 3,430 | 11.4 |
| 23 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $47,610 | 138,720 | 14.6 |
| 24 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $47,530 | 39,920 | 16.8 |
| 25 | Albany, OR | $47,440 | 380 | 8.1 |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Waiters and Waitresses overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.