Average Bartender Salary

How Much Does a Bartender Make?

On average, a Bartender make $30,340 a year. The lowest-paid 10 percent made $17,870, while the top-paid 10 percent made $47,710.

Annually National Average Salary: $30,340

$17K

$20K

$30K

$34K

$47K

10%

25%

50%

75%

90%

* Based on information from the May 2021 salary report from the BLS.

Salary by State

Annually

Monthly

Hourly

Annual Salary by State

State	10% Annual	25% Annual	Avg. Annual	75% Annual	90% Annual
Alabama	$17,120	$17,740	$22,820	$23,400	$38,670
Alaska	$23,940	$24,200	$29,990	$29,750	$35,850
Arizona	$28,330	$29,680	$45,150	$58,020	$72,750
Arkansas	$22,880	$22,880	$25,840	$25,820	$30,840
California	$29,120	$29,750	$38,070	$36,020	$48,960
Colorado	$25,630	$26,270	$33,420	$30,460	$57,750
Connecticut	$24,960	$27,020	$34,300	$36,870	$48,900
Delaware	$21,010	$21,550	$29,200	$30,410	$44,770
District of Columbia	$31,240	$31,320	$42,790	$47,970	$63,720
Florida	$18,630	$19,840	$28,950	$30,860	$47,470
Georgia	$16,990	$17,720	$26,900	$27,230	$57,190
Hawaii	$22,750	$23,360	$44,680	$59,590	$75,890
Idaho	$17,200	$17,540	$24,670	$27,500	$42,610
Illinois	$22,880	$22,880	$26,500	$26,890	$35,660
Indiana	$17,120	$17,820	$25,140	$28,120	$44,530
Iowa	$17,460	$17,960	$23,850	$25,850	$36,470
Kansas	$16,830	$17,400	$23,920	$28,350	$38,100
Kentucky	$17,150	$17,930	$24,990	$28,050	$38,940
Louisiana	$16,890	$17,590	$20,450	$19,860	$28,350
Maine	$26,860	$28,880	$41,500	$49,930	$60,690
Maryland	$24,440	$24,470	$32,000	$36,170	$45,760
Massachusetts	$29,520	$30,580	$39,900	$46,540	$49,470
Michigan	$22,330	$23,340	$32,450	$37,200	$48,490
Minnesota	$22,030	$22,760	$27,440	$28,300	$38,870
Mississippi	$16,780	$17,560	$22,180	$20,070	$32,250
Missouri	$21,420	$21,420	$29,290	$30,220	$46,040
Montana	$19,180	$21,060	$22,800	$22,670	$28,590
Nebraska	$19,180	$20,530	$25,040	$23,160	$34,740
Nevada	$18,200	$18,360	$25,390	$29,610	$38,100
New Hampshire	$17,360	$18,100	$30,560	$37,760	$60,650
New Jersey	$24,960	$26,940	$34,090	$37,750	$46,990
New Mexico	$21,840	$21,840	$28,060	$30,860	$47,340
New York	$26,510	$27,900	$43,780	$50,090	$77,040
North Carolina	$16,760	$17,610	$26,610	$34,390	$46,170
North Dakota	$17,720	$18,090	$26,630	$29,600	$38,550
Ohio	$18,460	$19,900	$26,250	$28,310	$45,650
Oklahoma	$17,290	$18,200	$27,080	$33,410	$46,130
Oregon	$26,650	$28,010	$32,070	$30,970	$43,000
Pennsylvania	$17,200	$17,820	$25,750	$28,880	$44,160
Rhode Island	$23,980	$26,250	$32,700	$38,280	$47,950
South Carolina	$17,060	$17,720	$24,260	$27,930	$37,410
South Dakota	$22,300	$22,790	$25,560	$28,350	$29,910
Tennessee	$17,180	$17,820	$24,970	$29,950	$43,570
Texas	$17,160	$17,930	$27,730	$34,540	$46,830
Utah	$18,020	$18,540	$33,740	$38,940	$75,830
Vermont	$24,440	$24,520	$36,890	$39,750	$75,100
Virginia	$19,760	$22,890	$34,590	$37,900	$58,060
Washington	$29,280	$30,720	$44,120	$49,550	$74,900
West Virginia	$18,200	$20,970	$26,760	$28,710	$41,880
Wisconsin	$17,490	$18,060	$23,840	$24,450	$32,300
Wyoming	$17,780	$18,090	$25,460	$24,400	$46,830
Guam	$18,200	$18,200	$20,360	$20,720	$21,830
Puerto Rico	$16,810	$17,280	$20,020	$20,170	$25,230
Virgin Islands	$22,080	$23,790	$27,780	$25,210	$38,150

Annual Average Salary: Top 5 States

The top earning state in the field is Arizona, where the average salary is $45,150.

These are the top 5 earning states in the field:

Arizona - $45,150

Hawaii - $44,680

Washington - $44,120

New York - $43,780

District of Columbia - $42,790

Monthly Salary by State

State	10% Monthly	25% Monthly	Avg. Monthly	75% Monthly	90% Monthly
Alabama	$1,417	$1,417	$1,833	$1,917	$3,167
Alaska	$1,917	$2,000	$2,417	$2,417	$2,917
Arizona	$2,333	$2,417	$3,750	$4,833	$6,000
Arkansas	$1,833	$1,833	$2,083	$2,083	$2,500
California	$2,417	$2,417	$3,167	$3,000	$4,000
Colorado	$2,083	$2,167	$2,750	$2,500	$4,750
Connecticut	$2,000	$2,250	$2,833	$3,000	$4,000
Delaware	$1,750	$1,750	$2,417	$2,500	$3,667
District of Columbia	$2,583	$2,583	$3,500	$3,917	$5,250
Florida	$1,500	$1,583	$2,333	$2,500	$3,917
Georgia	$1,333	$1,417	$2,167	$2,250	$4,750
Hawaii	$1,833	$1,917	$3,667	$4,917	$6,250
Idaho	$1,417	$1,417	$2,000	$2,250	$3,500
Illinois	$1,833	$1,833	$2,167	$2,167	$2,917
Indiana	$1,417	$1,417	$2,083	$2,333	$3,667
Iowa	$1,417	$1,417	$1,917	$2,083	$3,000
Kansas	$1,333	$1,417	$1,917	$2,333	$3,167
Kentucky	$1,417	$1,417	$2,000	$2,333	$3,167
Louisiana	$1,333	$1,417	$1,667	$1,583	$2,333
Maine	$2,167	$2,333	$3,417	$4,083	$5,000
Maryland	$2,000	$2,000	$2,667	$3,000	$3,750
Massachusetts	$2,417	$2,500	$3,250	$3,833	$4,083
Michigan	$1,833	$1,917	$2,667	$3,083	$4,000
Minnesota	$1,833	$1,833	$2,250	$2,333	$3,167
Mississippi	$1,333	$1,417	$1,833	$1,667	$2,667
Missouri	$1,750	$1,750	$2,417	$2,500	$3,833
Montana	$1,583	$1,750	$1,833	$1,833	$2,333
Nebraska	$1,583	$1,667	$2,083	$1,917	$2,833
Nevada	$1,500	$1,500	$2,083	$2,417	$3,167
New Hampshire	$1,417	$1,500	$2,500	$3,083	$5,000
New Jersey	$2,000	$2,167	$2,833	$3,083	$3,833
New Mexico	$1,750	$1,750	$2,333	$2,500	$3,917
New York	$2,167	$2,250	$3,583	$4,167	$6,417
North Carolina	$1,333	$1,417	$2,167	$2,833	$3,833
North Dakota	$1,417	$1,500	$2,167	$2,417	$3,167
Ohio	$1,500	$1,583	$2,167	$2,333	$3,750
Oklahoma	$1,417	$1,500	$2,250	$2,750	$3,833
Oregon	$2,167	$2,333	$2,667	$2,500	$3,583
Pennsylvania	$1,417	$1,417	$2,083	$2,333	$3,667
Rhode Island	$1,917	$2,167	$2,667	$3,167	$3,917
South Carolina	$1,417	$1,417	$2,000	$2,250	$3,083
South Dakota	$1,833	$1,833	$2,083	$2,333	$2,417
Tennessee	$1,417	$1,417	$2,000	$2,417	$3,583
Texas	$1,417	$1,417	$2,250	$2,833	$3,833
Utah	$1,500	$1,500	$2,750	$3,167	$6,250
Vermont	$2,000	$2,000	$3,000	$3,250	$6,250
Virginia	$1,583	$1,833	$2,833	$3,083	$4,833
Washington	$2,417	$2,500	$3,667	$4,083	$6,167
West Virginia	$1,500	$1,667	$2,167	$2,333	$3,417
Wisconsin	$1,417	$1,500	$1,917	$2,000	$2,667
Wyoming	$1,417	$1,500	$2,083	$2,000	$3,833
Guam	$1,500	$1,500	$1,667	$1,667	$1,750
Puerto Rico	$1,333	$1,417	$1,667	$1,667	$2,083
Virgin Islands	$1,833	$1,917	$2,250	$2,083	$3,167

Monthly Average Salary: Top 5 States

The top earning state in the field is Arizona, where the average salary is $3,750.

These are the top 5 earning states in the field:

Arizona - $3,750

Washington - $3,667

Hawaii - $3,667

New York - $3,583

District of Columbia - $3,500

Hourly Salary by State

State	10% Hourly	25% Hourly	Avg. Hourly	75% Hourly	90% Hourly
Alabama	$8.23	$8.53	$10.97	$11.25	$18.59
Alaska	$11.51	$11.64	$14.42	$14.30	$17.23
Arizona	$13.62	$14.27	$21.71	$27.89	$34.98
Arkansas	$11.00	$11.00	$12.42	$12.41	$14.83
California	$14.00	$14.30	$18.30	$17.32	$23.54
Colorado	$12.32	$12.63	$16.07	$14.64	$27.76
Connecticut	$12.00	$12.99	$16.49	$17.73	$23.51
Delaware	$10.10	$10.36	$14.04	$14.62	$21.52
District of Columbia	$15.02	$15.06	$20.57	$23.06	$30.64
Florida	$8.96	$9.54	$13.92	$14.84	$22.82
Georgia	$8.17	$8.52	$12.93	$13.09	$27.50
Hawaii	$10.94	$11.23	$21.48	$28.65	$36.49
Idaho	$8.27	$8.44	$11.86	$13.22	$20.49
Illinois	$11.00	$11.00	$12.74	$12.93	$17.14
Indiana	$8.23	$8.57	$12.09	$13.52	$21.41
Iowa	$8.40	$8.63	$11.47	$12.43	$17.54
Kansas	$8.09	$8.37	$11.50	$13.63	$18.32
Kentucky	$8.25	$8.62	$12.02	$13.49	$18.72
Louisiana	$8.12	$8.46	$9.83	$9.55	$13.63
Maine	$12.91	$13.89	$19.95	$24.01	$29.18
Maryland	$11.75	$11.77	$15.38	$17.39	$22.00
Massachusetts	$14.19	$14.70	$19.19	$22.38	$23.78
Michigan	$10.74	$11.22	$15.60	$17.89	$23.31
Minnesota	$10.59	$10.94	$13.19	$13.60	$18.69
Mississippi	$8.07	$8.44	$10.66	$9.65	$15.51
Missouri	$10.30	$10.30	$14.08	$14.53	$22.13
Montana	$9.22	$10.13	$10.96	$10.90	$13.75
Nebraska	$9.22	$9.87	$12.04	$11.13	$16.70
Nevada	$8.75	$8.83	$12.21	$14.23	$18.32
New Hampshire	$8.35	$8.70	$14.69	$18.15	$29.16
New Jersey	$12.00	$12.95	$16.39	$18.15	$22.59
New Mexico	$10.50	$10.50	$13.49	$14.84	$22.76
New York	$12.74	$13.42	$21.05	$24.08	$37.04
North Carolina	$8.06	$8.47	$12.79	$16.54	$22.20
North Dakota	$8.52	$8.70	$12.80	$14.23	$18.54
Ohio	$8.87	$9.57	$12.62	$13.61	$21.95
Oklahoma	$8.31	$8.75	$13.02	$16.06	$22.18
Oregon	$12.81	$13.47	$15.42	$14.89	$20.67
Pennsylvania	$8.27	$8.57	$12.38	$13.89	$21.23
Rhode Island	$11.53	$12.62	$15.72	$18.41	$23.05
South Carolina	$8.20	$8.52	$11.66	$13.43	$17.99
South Dakota	$10.72	$10.96	$12.29	$13.63	$14.38
Tennessee	$8.26	$8.57	$12.00	$14.40	$20.95
Texas	$8.25	$8.62	$13.33	$16.61	$22.52
Utah	$8.66	$8.91	$16.22	$18.72	$36.46
Vermont	$11.75	$11.79	$17.74	$19.11	$36.11
Virginia	$9.50	$11.01	$16.63	$18.22	$27.91
Washington	$14.08	$14.77	$21.21	$23.82	$36.01
West Virginia	$8.75	$10.08	$12.87	$13.80	$20.13
Wisconsin	$8.41	$8.68	$11.46	$11.75	$15.53
Wyoming	$8.55	$8.70	$12.24	$11.73	$22.52
Guam	$8.75	$8.75	$9.79	$9.96	$10.50
Puerto Rico	$8.08	$8.31	$9.63	$9.70	$12.13
Virgin Islands	$10.62	$11.44	$13.36	$12.12	$18.34

Hourly Average Salary: Top 5 States

The top earning state in the field is Arizona, where the average salary is $21.71.

These are the top 5 earning states in the field:

Arizona - $21.71

Hawaii - $21.48

Washington - $21.21

New York - $21.05

District of Columbia - $20.57

Bartenders: Salary Overview

Bartenders mix drinks and serve them to customers in establishments such as restaurants, bars, pubs, or casinos.

Their job responsibilities may also include taking orders, checking the identification of customers to make sure that they are over the legal drinking age, cleaning their work areas, collecting payments, and maintaining liquor and bar supplies.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly wage for bartenders was $11.39 in May 2019.

Salaries in this field vary based on a wide range of factors, including the bartender’s level of experience, the industry and the region of employment.

The lowest 10% earned less than $8.55 an hour while the highest 10% earned more than $22.18 an hour.

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Bartender Salary by Industry

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, 46% of bartenders worked for restaurants and other eating places while drinking places employed 25% of all bartenders.

Some of them (6%) also worked in the field of traveler accommodation (hotels, motels, etc.), and 6% worked for civic and social organizations.

Amusement parks and other establishments in the gambling and recreation industry employed about 5% of all bartenders.

In 2018 the best paying industry for bartenders was the industry of Employment Services, an industry that provides a variety of human resource services to business.

Bartenders employed by these types of businesses earned, on average around $30,950 a year, or $14.88 per hour.

Bartenders who worked in hotels and other travel accommodation establishments earned a mean annual wage of $30,560, or $14.69 an hour.

Another field where you are likely to earn a higher salary as a bartender is the industry of Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water.

This industry comprises establishments that organize cruises and other sightseeing tours on the water.

Bartenders who worked on cruise ships earned an average annual wage of $29,800 as of May 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

However, there are few job openings in this field, and finding a job on a cruise ship may require having a few years of experience in bartending.

Restaurants and other eating places- the top employer of bartenders- offered an annual salary of $27,940 a year or $13.43 an hour while the mean annual salary for bartenders who worked in drinking places earned an average annual salary of $25,230 or $12.13 an hour.

The average annual salary for bartenders who worked in casinos and amusement parks was $25,070 as of May 2018.

A few bartenders choose to work as independent contractors and their average hourly rate was $13.99 bringing the total annual salary to approximately $29,100.

Bartender Salary by Compensation Structure

Bartenders often earn a combination of hourly wages and customers’ tips and their earnings vary widely depending on the type of establishment.

In some high-end and busy restaurants, casinos or hotels bartenders make more in tips than in wages.

The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $7.25 an hour as of July 2009 which may include a combination of direct wages and tips.

However, the minimum wages for these employees vary by state or even by locality.

The Fair Labor Standard Act defines tipped employees as employees who make more than $30 a month in tips but this definition also varies by state.

According to the Fair Labor Act, for bartenders, direct wages may be as low as $2.13.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for bartenders is projected to grow 8 percent from 2018 to 2028, faster than the average of all occupations, so if you’re willing to start a career in this field your job prospects are expected to be good.

However, job openings vary by industry and the region of employment.

* Based on information from the May 2021 salary report from the BLS. The figures represent accumulated data for all states of employment for Bartenders. BLS data represents averages and medians for workers at all levels of education and experience. This data doesn't represent starting salaries.

* Employment conditions in your area may vary.