Server salary in 2026
Median pay, hourly rates, top-paying cities, and live server jobs from MAJC's coverage area. Numbers below combine U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics with 105 active postings.
Median (national)
$33,650
$16.18/hr · BLS May 2024
Top 10 percent
$60K+
$28.61/hr effective
MAJC posted median
$17
From 48 disclosed
National pay for servers
$33,650median, full year
About $16.18/hr. Top 10 percent earn $60K+.
Of 48 MAJC postings disclosing salary in this category, median is $17. Source: actual job postings
BLS Occupation 35-3031Waiters and Waitresses, May 2024. Source
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Server pay by city
MAJC-active metros with at least one disclosed server salary in the last 14 days. Median is across disclosed postings only; sample size noted per row.
How servers push pay above median
- Volume + format leverage. High-cover-count concepts (200+ covers, multi-outlet hotels) pay more than small independents — same role, different scope.
- Specialized knowledge. Wine or spirits certification, specific cuisine training, or technical systems (POS, inventory) all command premiums.
- Bilingual fluency. English/Spanish in the U.S. hospitality market is consistently worth a meaningful bump.
- Tenure + leadership. "Lead" or "Head" prefixes typically signal 15–30% over an "Associate" version of the same role.
- Disclosed-salary postings. Filter MAJC for server jobs with disclosed pay — those tend to be the ones that compete on number, not vibes.
Top-paying live server jobs right now
Highest disclosed salaries across 105 active server postings.
- $32 to $42
Room Service Order Taker (Temporary) - Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza
- $31
Ice Cream Server - Studio City
- $31
Ice Cream Server - Fairfax
- $30
Banquet Server
Frequently asked
- What is the average server salary?
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual pay for waiters and waitresses is $33,650 ($16.18/hr) as of May 2024. The top 10% earn $60K or more.
- How much does a server make per hour?
- BLS reports a median hourly rate of $16.18/hr for waiters and waitresses. Tipped roles (server, bartender, busser) can substantially exceed the base hourly with gratuities.
- Which cities pay servers the most?
- Among MAJC's covered metros, Houston currently leads with a median disclosed salary of $10/year for server roles. See the per-city breakdown above for live numbers.
- What skills increase server pay the most?
- In hospitality, the biggest pay drivers are: specialized cuisine or beverage knowledge, fluency in a second language (Spanish in the U.S.), high-volume service experience, and proven leadership of a team. POS proficiency (Toast, Tock, Resy) and inventory or P&L responsibility also push pay above median.
- How do I find a server job that pays above median?
- Filter MAJC's server listings by "Salary listed" to surface postings with disclosed pay, then sort by salary. Hotels and high-cover-count restaurants tend to disclose more often than smaller independents. Browse all 105 server listings below.