Waiters and Waitresses Average Salary in California
$44,600 average · $44,600 median · BLS OEWS 2025
SOC Code: 35-3031What is this?
This page shows employer-reported wages for Waiters and Waitresses in California, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey — median and mean pay, the full percentile distribution, and the industries that employ this occupation locally. For tipped roles, venue economics dominate — the same skills earn multiples more at a high-volume, high-check establishment. For kitchen roles, the ladder from line cook through sous chef to kitchen manager is the pay path, and it is climbed by demonstrated reliability more than credentials. Hotel and institutional food service generally out-pays restaurants at equivalent levels and adds benefits.
How much do Waiters and Waitresses make in California?
The average waiters and waitresses salary in California is $44,600 per year. That works out to about $21.44 per hour on average. BLS counts roughly 229,970 waiters and waitresses jobs in California.
Mean and median are close, so pay is relatively concentrated around $44,600. Entry-level roles (10th percentile) report about $44,600; experienced workers at the 90th percentile report about $44,600 — a 0% spread from bottom to top. Figures are employer-reported wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — not self-reported survey averages — so they are the right baseline for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
How Food Preparation and Serving Careers Are Structured
Food service is the largest low-wage occupational group in the country, and also one where the published data most understates true variation: tipped earnings are inconsistently captured, so wages for servers and bartenders in busy, high-priced markets can run far above the recorded figures, while quiet-market wages match them.
The wage tables and percentile chart on this page show how waiters and waitresses pay is distributed in California specifically — and because state-level wages for the same occupation routinely differ by 30% or more, the local figures here are the ones that matter for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
What Moves Pay in This Field
For tipped roles, venue economics dominate — the same skills earn multiples more at a high-volume, high-check establishment. For kitchen roles, the ladder from line cook through sous chef to kitchen manager is the pay path, and it is climbed by demonstrated reliability more than credentials. Hotel and institutional food service generally out-pays restaurants at equivalent levels and adds benefits.
Entry is immediate and the skills are learned working. The realistic financial trajectories are: into supervision (the first-line supervisor premium over crew wages is visible and substantial in this data), into institutional settings with benefits, or out — food service experience transfers credibly into sales, customer success, and operations roles with stronger distributions.
New to reading wage distributions? Our guide to salary percentiles explains how to place yourself on the chart above, and the negotiation playbook shows how to use these numbers in an actual conversation.
What Do Waiters and Waitresses Do?
Waiters and Waitresses positions belong to the food preparation and serving field. Food service is the largest low-wage occupational group in the country, and also one where the published data most understates true variation: tipped earnings are inconsistently captured, so wages for servers and bartenders in busy, high-priced markets can run far above the recorded figures, while quiet-market wages match them.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 35-3031
Waiters and Waitresses pay in California
In California, waiters and waitresses report a median of $44,600 (about $21.44/hour) across roughly 229,970 jobs. The local pay band runs from about $44,600 at the 10th percentile to $44,600 at the 90th.
Compared with the national distribution, local industry mix and cost of living are the main reasons California wages for this occupation sit where they do — toggle Regional Price Parity on this page to see purchasing-power-adjusted pay.
What your paycheck is really worth in California
Prices in California run 11% above the national average (RPP 110.7). So a nominal salary of $44,600 has the buying power of about $40,282 in national terms.
California vs. United States for Waiters and Waitresses
The median waiters and waitresses salary in California is $44,600, which is +11.3% above the national median of $40,060 (mean pay is +11.3% above the U.S. mean of $40,070). Among 51 states and D.C. with OEWS data, California ranks #14 by median wage for this occupation. California accounts for about 1.8% of U.S. waiters and waitresses employment in the latest OEWS release.
See every state ranked for this occupation on the best-paying states page, or compare purchasing power on real wages.
Income reality check
The median salary for Waiters and Waitresses in California of $44,600 falls in the Stably paid band of this framework - roughly ~12% of the U.S. population and ~15% of the global population sit in this band.
Illustrative relative standing for education only - this ladder is a simplified framework, not an official Census, BLS, or World Bank statistical series. Salary figures on Wage Atlas come from official BLS OEWS data.
Salary Overview
Salary Distribution & Your Position
Advance Your Career
Ready to level up? Find courses, certifications, and coaching to boost your salary potential.
AI Replacement Risk Analysis
Forward-looking analysis of automation and AI impact
- Physical presence and manual skills required
Includes risk scoring, timeline estimates, adaptation strategies, and more
Occupation Report Card
Top Industries for Waiters and Waitresses
| $40,155 | $35,220 | $19 | 7,870,080 | |
| $38,562 | $35,127 | $19 | 264,310 |
Related Occupations
SOC: 43-9061 • 85% match | $46,270 | $46,420 | $22 | 14,034,620 |
SOC: 33-9032 • 93% match | $42,595 | $42,070 | $20 | 7,593,360 |
SOC: 53-7062 • 87% match | $42,117 | $42,260 | $20 | 15,269,800 |
SOC: 53-7065 • 89% match | $39,579 | $39,440 | $19 | 14,316,800 |
| Find Occupation 53 7065 Jobs | ||||
| $39,122 | $38,760 | $19 | 12,706,340 | |
SOC: 35-2014 • 88% match | $38,701 | $38,600 | $19 | 8,130,270 |
Related Occupations
Explore similar occupations and career paths:
Waiters And Waitresses in Other States
Compare salaries for this occupation across different states:
Explore More Data for Waiters And Waitresses
Career Advancement Strategy
Skills to Develop
Fastest growing skill in marketing technology
High ROI focus drives salary premiums
Data-driven marketing is becoming standard
Essential for senior marketing roles
Required for VP and C-level positions
Explore Similar Careers
Related Metrics
Viewing: Waiters and Waitresses (SOC: 35-3031)