Waiters and Waitresses
Hospitality and TourismO*NET 35-3031.00United States
Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.
- Median annual earnings
- $35,070
- Projected change
- +3.3%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 2.31M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
89.9% of the workforce
Growing to 2.39M by 2035
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The work
What waiters and waitresses do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
- Collect payments from customers.
- Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
- Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
- Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
- Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen for cleaning.
- Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.
- Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining.
- Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required.
- Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.
- Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request.
- Roll silverware, set up food stations, or set up dining areas to prepare for the next shift or for large parties.
- Prepare tables for meals, including setting up items such as linens, silverware, and glassware.
- Stock service areas with supplies such as coffee, food, tableware, and linens.
- Inform customers of daily specials.
- Explain how various menu items are prepared, describing ingredients and cooking methods.
- Assist host or hostess by answering phones to take reservations or to-go orders, and by greeting, seating, and thanking guests.
- Fill salt, pepper, sugar, cream, condiment, and napkin containers.
- Prepare hot, cold, and mixed drinks for patrons, and chill bottles of wine.
- Perform food preparation duties, such as preparing salads, appetizers, and cold dishes, portioning desserts, and brewing coffee.
- Escort customers to their tables.
- Provide guests with information about local areas, including directions.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $17,896
- 25th percentile
- $27,509
- 50th percentile
- $35,070
- 75th percentile
- $47,010
- 90th percentile
- $64,805
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $35,070 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+3.3%average or slower
20252,310,112 jobs
2035 projected2,387,271 jobs
77,159 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 89.9%
- Certificate
- 8.3%
- Some college
- 1.1%
- Associate degree
- 0.7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Servers70,031 postings
- 02Wait Staff8,611 postings
- 03Restaurant Servers7,576 postings
- 04Banquet Servers5,202 postings
- 05Server Assistants5,020 postings
- 06Managers/Wait Staff2,518 postings
- 07Wait Staff/Servers2,340 postings
- 08Cocktail Servers2,168 postings
- 09Cashiers/Servers2,090 postings
- 10Dining Room Servers1,590 postings
- 11Dining Servers1,553 postings
- 12Cast Members1,545 postings
- 13Breakfast Servers1,536 postings
- 14Team Members1,487 postings
- 15On Call Banquet Servers1,179 postings
- 16Pool Servers1,032 postings
- 17Lead Servers913 postings
- 18Beverage Servers911 postings
- 19In Room Dining Servers900 postings
- 20Experienced Auditors873 postings
Top employers
- 01Chili's Grill & Bar2,830 postings
- 02Marriott International2,568 postings
- 03Waffle House2,549 postings
- 04Pizza Hut2,080 postings
- 05Applebee's1,641 postings
- 06Hilton1,640 postings
- 07CEC Entertainment1,552 postings
- 08Compass Group1,418 postings
- 09Buffalo Wild Wings1,409 postings
- 10First Watch1,242 postings
- 11French Lick Resort1,104 postings
- 12Hyatt1,050 postings
- 13Outback Steakhouse997 postings
- 14Cracker Barrel903 postings
- 15Sunrise Senior Living845 postings
- 16Brookdale Senior Living751 postings
- 17Landry's738 postings
- 18Bob Evans Restaurants698 postings
- 19Denny's643 postings
- 20Omni Hotels & Resorts643 postings
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