Occupation · SOC 35-9031

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop: pay and where the jobs are

What hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.

BLS May 2025 data · methodology

National pay, May 2025

$31,200 median annual wage

Mean (average) annual wage
$32,690
Median hourly wage
$15.00
Mean hourly wage
$15.72
Employment
432,690

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-9031.

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See where your pay falls among hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

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How much do hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop make?

The median annual wage for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop was $31,200 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $22,340 and the highest-paid 10% more than $43,990. As an hourly rate, the median is $15.00. About 432,690 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Hawaii ($47,070), Oregon ($40,720) and District of Columbia ($37,570). Hawaii also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.

Pay ladder

What each step of the pay range for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop: pay at each percentile
StepAnnualHourlyMonthly grossMonthly after federal tax & FICA
10th percentile$22,340$10.74$1,862$1,667
25th percentile$27,570$13.25$2,298$2,026
Median$31,200$15.00$2,600$2,271
75th percentile$36,250$17.43$3,021$2,609
90th percentile$43,990$21.15$3,666$3,127

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop: pay by state

54 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.

1

Hawaii

$34,517 take-home in national prices

2

Maine

$31,580 take-home in national prices

3

Oregon

$31,079 take-home in national prices

Where a median hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.

Annual wages by state, May 2025, with after-tax and price-adjusted estimates
StateEmploymentMedian10th pct.90th pct.Median after tax*In national prices†
Hawaii2,650$47,070$29,710$62,560$37,952$34,517
Oregon5,740$40,720$30,850$62,030$32,124$31,079
District of Columbia2,450$37,570$36,740$47,090$31,279$28,461
Washington9,530$37,270$34,650$59,430$31,609$29,538
Maine1,460$36,800$30,840$51,040$30,648$31,580
California41,100$36,640$34,360$46,060$30,696$27,724
New York18,640$36,490$32,910$53,060$29,937$27,740
Colorado9,490$36,340$30,800$55,660$30,329$29,431
Massachusetts13,540$34,960$31,200$41,740$28,582$27,026
Maryland7,390$34,860$31,200$38,180$28,900$27,535
Arizona10,710$34,740$30,710$46,850$29,619$29,420
Connecticut3,670$34,210$34,010$44,060$28,741$27,740
New Jersey9,420$34,050$32,220$43,160$28,743$26,417
New Hampshire2,130$33,920$26,330$38,460$29,435$28,258
Virgin Islands90$33,540$25,880$61,000——
Rhode IslandNot published$31,400$31,200$46,690$26,504$25,913
Delaware1,680$31,200$31,200$35,360$26,070$26,120
Illinois16,500$31,200$31,200$44,720$25,850$25,860
Nevada6,570$31,170$25,150$48,810$27,225$27,231
Vermont1,060$31,080$29,780$47,670$26,545$27,099
Virginia10,890$30,490$27,230$44,630$25,740$25,459
South Dakota630$30,310$25,380$36,800$26,534$29,953
Alaska740$30,210$24,770$44,270$26,303$25,697
Minnesota7,150$30,200$24,000$38,960$25,516$25,872
Florida37,100$29,810$27,750$43,680$26,132$25,270
Utah4,950$29,610$22,040$45,100$25,472$25,765
Pennsylvania18,020$29,170$20,800$41,380$24,702$25,317
Missouri8,510$29,130$28,600$37,440$25,154$27,698
Michigan12,620$28,950$25,960$37,270$24,462$25,423
Montana1,260$28,910$22,700$35,980$24,807$26,211
North Dakota800$28,660$22,020$37,670$25,208$28,337
New Mexico2,670$28,480$26,830$35,180$24,761$26,852
Nebraska2,830$28,450$28,080$38,750$24,570$27,269
North Carolina15,160$28,320$19,100$36,460$24,310$25,773
Iowa2,630$28,210$21,880$40,550$24,421$27,826
Kansas4,540$28,110$18,040$39,040$23,961$26,603
Wisconsin6,430$28,060$17,830$37,440$24,215$25,735
Georgia17,300$27,850$19,890$34,900$23,903$24,823
Ohio15,480$27,550$22,870$37,320$24,297$26,190
Tennessee11,280$27,490$20,180$35,770$24,248$26,394
Idaho2,360$27,280$18,400$35,770$23,738$24,858
Kentucky5,120$27,100$19,150$35,300$23,096$25,617
Texas35,550$27,080$17,270$36,870$23,910$24,635
South Carolina7,990$27,000$17,740$37,230$23,606$25,180
Indiana9,730$26,920$19,290$37,060$23,014$24,659
Arkansas3,110$26,760$23,460$33,560$23,138$26,615
Alabama5,400$26,130$21,230$34,400$22,135$24,921
Oklahoma5,060$24,740$18,810$39,310$21,416$24,379
West Virginia1,580$24,420$19,640$30,460$21,160$23,643
Wyoming660$22,660$17,280$33,800$20,271$21,869
Puerto Rico1,270$22,480$21,840$24,960——
Louisiana6,440$22,060$16,280$31,610$19,501$22,108
Mississippi2,660$21,990$17,240$28,890$19,571$22,508
Guam250$20,450$19,820$22,020——

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 35-9031. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).

Sources

  1. OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  2. OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.