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. Hiring? Use the free server job description template.
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
Want to see where your own paycheck sits? Use the free Am I paid fairly checker. Pick this role, your state, and what you take home.
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.