Barista Salary by State (2026)

Name: Barista annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Baristas earn the most in California at $42,280 a year and the least in Guam at $20,770 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $31,200. All 54 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $42,280
National median: $31,200
Lowest median: $20,770
States reporting: 54

Top 5 states for Baristas

1. California$42,280 median · $38,186 adjusted · 449,840 employed
2. Washington$37,710 median · $35,239 adjusted · 94,710 employed
3. District of Columbia$37,430 median · $34,058 adjusted · 5,500 employed
4. Colorado$36,270 median · $35,196 adjusted · 82,010 employed
5. Vermont$36,030 median · $36,781 adjusted · 6,830 employed

Lowest-paying states for Baristas

54. Guam$20,770 median · no price parity · 1,130 employed
53. Puerto Rico$22,030 median · no price parity · 26,440 employed
52. Mississippi$22,610 median · $26,003 adjusted · 31,220 employed
51. Louisiana$22,800 median · $25,848 adjusted · 45,720 employed
50. Oklahoma$23,430 median · $26,673 adjusted · 52,520 employed

Barista salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of baristas OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
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1	California	$42,280	$36,790	$44,970	449,840	$38,186
2	Washington	$37,710	$35,880	$44,240	94,710	$35,239
3	District of Columbia	$37,430	$37,340	$39,050	5,500	$34,058
4	Colorado	$36,270	$33,900	$37,710	82,010	$35,196
5	Vermont	$36,030	$34,330	$38,640	6,830	$36,781
6	Massachusetts	$35,850	$33,770	$36,980	85,810	$33,898
7	Connecticut	$35,380	$34,480	$36,450	35,720	$34,147
8	Hawaii	$35,250	$30,460	$37,510	24,130	$32,060
9	New York	$35,250	$34,350	$37,140	168,620	$32,663
10	Oregon	$35,050	$33,560	$36,880	59,920	$33,910
11	Maine	$34,710	$31,990	$36,500	17,250	$35,765
12	Arizona	$34,230	$31,360	$35,830	77,210	$34,000
13	New Jersey	$34,150	$32,220	$36,150	93,730	$31,386
14	Illinois	$33,910	$31,200	$35,990	127,590	$33,924
15	Maryland	$33,660	$31,280	$35,600	49,380	$32,070
16	Alaska	$33,280	$28,690	$39,120	5,900	$32,513
17	Nevada	$31,950	$28,040	$35,890	45,850	$31,957
18	New Hampshire	$31,590	$28,970	$36,130	14,540	$30,327
19	Rhode Island	$31,490	$31,200	$35,260	13,310	$30,788
20	Minnesota	$31,370	$29,230	$35,650	58,970	$31,809
21	Delaware	$31,300	$31,200	$35,630	13,310	$31,360
22	Missouri	$30,390	$28,900	$34,230	29,360	$33,463
23	Virginia	$30,110	$28,230	$34,650	104,460	$29,781
24	North Dakota	$30,080	$28,700	$35,250	11,470	$33,813
25	South Dakota	$29,490	$28,670	$31,480	15,150	$33,290
26	Montana	$29,090	$26,420	$34,640	14,960	$30,736
27	Florida	$29,080	$28,020	$33,220	235,400	$28,120
28	Nebraska	$29,000	$28,210	$34,410	30,060	$32,185
29	Idaho	$28,940	$22,760	$33,210	25,810	$30,306
30	Michigan	$28,930	$27,580	$32,760	103,130	$30,067
31	Indiana	$28,790	$24,630	$33,210	97,290	$30,848
32	New Mexico	$28,700	$28,070	$30,140	28,250	$31,124
33	Utah	$28,670	$26,340	$33,360	52,340	$28,999
34	Wisconsin	$28,600	$25,710	$33,390	67,750	$30,395
35	North Carolina	$28,570	$23,370	$34,370	92,230	$30,289
36	Pennsylvania	$28,570	$24,440	$32,310	142,220	$29,281
37	Ohio	$28,430	$26,800	$29,930	163,560	$30,644
38	Iowa	$28,390	$26,150	$33,440	40,290	$32,349
39	Wyoming	$27,860	$21,910	$29,640	7,060	$30,057
40	Texas	$27,740	$22,980	$29,730	460,530	$28,581
41	Kansas	$27,580	$22,980	$29,260	47,140	$30,621
42	South Carolina	$27,520	$23,320	$29,660	65,070	$29,355
43	Tennessee	$27,470	$23,490	$29,530	90,690	$29,901
44	Kentucky	$27,130	$22,800	$29,680	41,860	$30,091
45	Georgia	$26,920	$22,480	$29,640	145,030	$27,956
46	Arkansas	$26,250	$23,570	$27,850	35,660	$30,194
47	West Virginia	$26,070	$22,160	$29,610	6,240	$29,129
48	U.S. Virgin Islands	$24,410	$23,670	$26,410	840	N/A
49	Alabama	$23,700	$22,050	$27,840	41,460	$26,682
50	Oklahoma	$23,430	$21,920	$27,520	52,520	$26,673
51	Louisiana	$22,800	$21,770	$26,680	45,720	$25,848
52	Mississippi	$22,610	$21,340	$26,680	31,220	$26,003
53	Puerto Rico	$22,030	$21,840	$22,390	26,440	N/A
54	Guam	$20,770	$20,640	$20,980	1,130	N/A

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Baristas, that changes the ranking: California leads on raw pay at $42,280, while California leads once prices are taken into account at $38,186.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Barista pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Baristas the most?

California reports the highest median wage for Baristas at $42,280 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($37,710) and District of Columbia ($37,430).

Which state pays Baristas the least?

Guam reports the lowest median for Baristas at $20,770 a year, $21,510 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Baristas earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts California first at $38,186 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $42,280. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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