Salary Range & Percentiles
Pay distribution across experience levels
- 10th Percentile — Entry Level$20,110
- 25th Percentile — Junior$27,400
- 50th Percentile — Median$34,340
- 75th Percentile — Senior$47,570
- 90th Percentile — Top Earners$73,770
The top 10% of Bartenders earn $73,770 or more per year. Entry-level professionals can expect to start around $20,110, with significant growth over the first 5 years.
What Bartenders Do
Role, training and entry requirements
Bartenders mix and serve drinks to customers directly or through wait staff. They check identification, take payments, keep the bar stocked and clean, and often serve food in bars, restaurants, hotels, and event venues.
How to become one
Most learn on the job, often starting as barbacks or servers. Some attend bartending schools, and many states require responsible alcohol service training.
Salary by State
Geographic salary comparison
| State | Avg Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $76,740 | +88.1% |
| New York | $61,670 | +51.2% |
| Washington | $60,010 | +47.1% |
| District of Columbia | $59,210 | +45.2% |
| Maine | $58,520 | +43.5% |
| Virginia | $54,200 | +32.9% |
| Arizona | $54,030 | +32.5% |
| Vermont | $51,780 | +26.9% |
| New Jersey | $51,440 | +26.1% |
| Colorado | $51,250 | +25.6% |
| Connecticut | $51,020 | +25.1% |
| Rhode Island | $46,090 | +13.0% |
| Oregon | $46,080 | +13.0% |
| Maryland | $45,180 | +10.8% |
| Massachusetts | $45,120 | +10.6% |
| California | $44,780 | +9.8% |
| Michigan | $44,470 | +9.0% |
| Delaware | $42,890 | +5.1% |
| Florida | $42,280 | +3.7% |
| New Mexico | $41,500 | +1.7% |
| North Carolina | $41,200 | +1.0% |
| New Hampshire | $40,730 | -0.1% |
| Utah | $40,430 | -0.9% |
| Ohio | $39,420 | -3.4% |
| Nebraska | $38,350 | -6.0% |
| Missouri | $38,170 | -6.4% |
| West Virginia | $37,910 | -7.1% |
| Alaska | $36,560 | -10.4% |
| Mississippi | $36,510 | -10.5% |
| Nevada | $36,210 | -11.2% |
| Kansas | $35,780 | -12.3% |
| Illinois | $35,550 | -12.8% |
| Pennsylvania | $35,460 | -13.1% |
| Kentucky | $34,970 | -14.3% |
| North Dakota | $33,390 | -18.1% |
| Arkansas | $32,850 | -19.5% |
| Idaho | $32,670 | -19.9% |
| Texas | $32,640 | -20.0% |
| Alabama | $32,220 | -21.0% |
| South Dakota | $31,940 | -21.7% |
| Tennessee | $31,180 | -23.6% |
| Minnesota | $30,680 | -24.8% |
| Georgia | $30,330 | -25.6% |
| Oklahoma | $29,260 | -28.3% |
| Wyoming | $29,000 | -28.9% |
| South Carolina | $28,440 | -30.3% |
| Indiana | $27,780 | -31.9% |
| Montana | $27,210 | -33.3% |
| Wisconsin | $26,970 | -33.9% |
| Iowa | $25,620 | -37.2% |
| Louisiana | $25,250 | -38.1% |
What Factors Affect Bartenders Salary?
Key factors affecting compensation
Pay for Bartenders is influenced by geographic location, years of experience, employer type, and educational background. Location alone is a large factor: Hawaii pays an average of $76,740, while Louisiana pays $25,250 — a gap of $51,490 per year.
Tips make up a large part of bartender income and are only partly captured in reported wages, so actual earnings can exceed these figures. High-volume bars, upscale venues, and tourist destinations offer the highest earning potential.
These figures are the wages employers report to BLS: base pay plus commissions, production bonuses and tips. They exclude overtime pay, shift differentials, year-end bonuses, benefits and self-employed workers, so total compensation can be higher than the numbers shown.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) · May 2025
Compare with Similar Jobs
Related career salary benchmarks
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation $46,180/yr United States +13.2% vs this role
- Cooks Fast Food $32,390/yr United States 20.6% vs this role
- Cooks Institution and Cafeteria $38,810/yr United States 4.9% vs this role
- Cooks Restaurant $38,730/yr United States 5.1% vs this role
- Fast Food and Counter Workers $32,150/yr United States 21.2% vs this role
- Waiters and Waitresses $40,060/yr United States 1.8% vs this role
- Registered Nurses $101,420/yr United States +148.6% vs this role
- Nurse Practitioners $137,300/yr United States +236.6% vs this role
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this salary
What is the average salary for Bartenders?
The average salary for Bartenders in the United States is $40,790 per year, with a median of $34,340.
What is the starting salary for Bartenders?
Entry-level Bartenders typically earn between $20,110 and $27,400 per year depending on location and employer.
What state pays Bartenders the most?
Hawaii pays Bartenders the most at $76,740 per year on average, followed by New York ($61,670) and Washington ($60,010).
How much do Bartenders make per hour?
Based on the average annual salary of $40,790, Bartenders earn approximately $19.61 per hour (based on 2,080 working hours/year).
Is Bartenders a good career in 2026?
BLS counts 756,390 Bartenders jobs in the United States, with a mean annual wage of $40,790 and a median of $34,340 (OEWS May 2025). This site does not publish job-growth projections; the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook covers the outlook for each occupation.
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