Food Servers, Nonrestaurant · SOC 35-3041
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant Salary in the Tennessee
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Tennessee
Figures describe the state of Tennessee as a whole.
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in the Tennessee earned a median of $30,670 per year ($14.75 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $22,620 at the 10th percentile to $46,750 at the 90th. BLS estimates 5,230 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in the Tennessee earn more than $30,670 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $27,630 and $36,180.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $22,620 | $27,630 | $30,670 | $36,180 | $46,750 |
| Hourly | $10.88 | $13.29 | $14.75 | $17.39 | $22.47 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Tennessee$30,670 median for Tennessee; middle half earns $27,630 to $36,180
- United Statesnational$35,360 median for United States; middle half earns $31,190 to $38,500
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −13% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in Tennessee
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for food servers, nonrestaurant, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Tennesseethis page$30,670 median for Tennessee; middle half earns $27,630 to $36,180
- $33,830 median for Nashville-Davidson metro area; middle half earns $29,240 to $39,090
- $31,080 median for Memphis metro area; middle half earns $28,130 to $34,570
- $30,740 median for Chattanooga metro area; middle half earns $27,220 to $33,040
- $30,640 median for Cleveland metro area; middle half earns $27,490 to $30,640
- $29,100 median for Knoxville metro area; middle half earns $28,340 to $33,350
- $28,430 median for Kingsport metro area; middle half earns $27,690 to $30,940
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for food servers, nonrestaurants · Highest-paying occupations in Tennessee
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
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.