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Pay by state · 54 areas

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendant and Bartender Helper Salary by State (2026)

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers earn the most in Hawaii at $51,200 a year and the least in Texas at $21,550 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $33,980. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$51,200Hawaii
National median
$33,980BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$21,550Texas
Areas reporting
54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1Hawaii$51,200
  2. 2Washington$41,420
  3. 3District of Columbia$39,080
  4. 4Maine$38,560
  5. 5Maryland$37,020

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Texas$21,550
  2. 2Alabama$22,470
  3. 3Mississippi$23,180
  4. 4Wyoming$24,600
  5. 5New Hampshire$26,290

All states

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendant and Bartender Helper salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers 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
#
1VIU.S. Virgin Islands
$51,760
$37,510$52,00070N/A
2HIHawaii
$51,200
$33,340$61,5204,380$46,566
3WAWashington
$41,420
$36,390$48,6206,160$38,706
4DCDistrict of Columbia
$39,080
$36,670$48,2004,130$35,559
5MEMaine
$38,560
$33,360$50,2201,540$39,732
6MDMaryland
$37,020
$34,120$39,37013,240$35,271
7OROregon
$36,800
$34,080$40,1903,910$35,603
8COColorado
$36,790
$32,140$46,9008,460$35,700
9NYNew York
$36,740
$34,060$46,33041,340$34,043
10AZArizona
$36,500
$32,050$41,88013,300$36,255
11CACalifornia
$36,010
$34,820$39,93075,460$32,523
12MAMassachusetts
$35,380
$32,100$45,52011,510$33,454
13CTConnecticut
$34,540
$34,010$36,4905,810$33,337
14NJNew Jersey
$34,170
$32,900$37,56016,490$31,405
15VTVermont
$34,120
$32,400$39,940N/A$34,831
16FLFlorida
$33,280
$29,530$37,08050,400$32,181
17VAVirginia
$32,410
$28,930$37,01011,910$32,056
18DEDelaware
$31,880
$31,200$35,8401,540$31,941
19MOMissouri
$31,850
$28,600$37,43011,590$35,071
20ILIllinois
$31,200
$31,200$34,01021,290$31,213
21RIRhode Island
$31,200
$31,200$34,6002,880$30,504
22NDNorth Dakota
$31,010
$27,050$35,320890$34,859
23NENebraska
$30,690
$28,500$36,0802,160$34,061
24MIMichigan
$30,390
$28,390$37,45013,050$31,585
25SDSouth Dakota
$29,920
$28,640$34,5802,550$33,775
26TNTennessee
$29,470
$23,110$35,01011,330$32,078
27OHOhio
$29,400
$26,430$35,30013,670$31,690
28NMNew Mexico
$29,360
$27,390$34,5502,960$31,840
29PAPennsylvania
$29,310
$23,350$35,43020,800$30,039
30MNMinnesota
$29,210
$26,090$34,6707,220$29,618
31GAGeorgia
$28,920
$22,900$35,69014,540$30,033
32INIndiana
$28,320
$23,130$33,34010,220$30,344
33IAIowa
$28,210
$20,400$31,3003,250$32,144
34IDIdaho
$27,810
$22,110$31,3101,520$29,122
35ARArkansas
$27,670
$25,600$32,3102,160$31,828
36NCNorth Carolina
$27,560
$21,470$32,72011,230$29,218
37MTMontana
$27,510
$22,530$34,8301,150$29,067
38NVNevada
$27,460
$25,470$37,06012,750$27,466
39WVWest Virginia
$27,150
$22,950$31,2701,170$30,336
40WIWisconsin
$27,080
$20,850$32,4207,220$28,779
41AKAlaska
$27,040
$25,140$30,790860$26,417
42UTUtah
$27,010
$21,690$34,1104,490$27,320
43OKOklahoma
$26,830
$21,490$31,2905,400$30,543
44SCSouth Carolina
$26,830
$19,110$33,2406,220$28,619
45LALouisiana
$26,780
$18,760$31,8404,810$30,360
46KYKentucky
$26,330
$20,640$30,7803,350$29,204
47KSKansas
$26,300
$19,010$31,3902,960$29,200
48NHNew Hampshire
$26,290
$21,000$34,2901,510$25,239
49WYWyoming
$24,600
$21,430$34,790650$26,540
50MSMississippi
$23,180
$20,690$28,2102,620$26,658
51ALAlabama
$22,470
$18,750$28,7403,420$25,298
52PRPuerto Rico
$22,450
$21,840$23,7101,070N/A
53GUGuam
$21,720
$20,730$21,720300N/A
54TXTexas
$21,550
$17,090$28,69060,270$22,203

Method

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 dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers, the adjustment does not change the leader: Hawaii is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $46,566.

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

Questions

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendant and Bartender Helper pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers the most?

Hawaii reports the highest median wage for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers at $51,200 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($41,420) and District of Columbia ($39,080).

Which state pays dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Texas reports the lowest median for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers at $21,550 a year, $29,650 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $51,760, Puerto Rico reports $22,450 and Guam reports $21,720.

Is the highest-paying state the best for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers after cost of living?

Yes. Hawaii stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $46,566 in national-average dollars from a raw $51,200. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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