Host and Hostess, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop Salary by State (2026)

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop earn the most in Hawaii at $47,070 a year and the least in Guam at $20,450 (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
$47,070

Hawaii

National median
$31,200

BLS OEWS, May 2025

Lowest median
$20,450

Guam

States reporting
54

of 54 OEWS areas

Top 5 states for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

  1. 1. Hawaii$47,070 median · $42,810 adjusted · 2,650 employed
  2. 2. Oregon$40,720 median · $39,396 adjusted · 5,740 employed
  3. 3. District of Columbia$37,570 median · $34,185 adjusted · 2,450 employed
  4. 4. Washington$37,270 median · $34,828 adjusted · 9,530 employed
  5. 5. Maine$36,800 median · $37,919 adjusted · 1,460 employed

Lowest-paying states for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

  1. 54. Guam$20,450 median · no price parity · 250 employed
  2. 53. Mississippi$21,990 median · $25,290 adjusted · 2,660 employed
  3. 52. Louisiana$22,060 median · $25,009 adjusted · 6,440 employed
  4. 51. Puerto Rico$22,480 median · no price parity · 1,270 employed
  5. 50. Wyoming$22,660 median · $24,447 adjusted · 660 employed

Host and Hostess, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop 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
#
1Hawaii$47,070$31,160$57,3102,650$42,810
2Oregon$40,720$33,280$48,8505,740$39,396
3District of Columbia$37,570$37,050$44,3102,450$34,185
4Washington$37,270$35,720$45,0409,530$34,828
5Maine$36,800$33,980$41,8601,460$37,919
6California$36,640$35,200$42,86041,100$33,092
7New York$36,490$34,150$43,19018,640$33,812
8Colorado$36,340$31,440$43,6009,490$35,264
9Massachusetts$34,960$31,200$36,49013,540$33,057
10Maryland$34,860$32,280$36,2707,390$33,213
11Arizona$34,740$31,200$38,19010,710$34,506
12Connecticut$34,210$34,010$35,5003,670$33,018
13New Jersey$34,050$32,220$36,4909,420$31,295
14New Hampshire$33,920$28,750$35,8602,130$32,564
15U.S. Virgin Islands$33,540$30,350$38,81090N/A
16Rhode Island$31,400$31,240$35,830N/A$30,700
17Delaware$31,200$31,200$33,6901,680$31,260
18Illinois$31,200$31,200$35,61016,500$31,213
19Nevada$31,170$26,690$44,7406,570$31,177
20Vermont$31,080$30,060$38,2501,060$31,728
21Virginia$30,490$28,380$35,44010,890$30,157
22South Dakota$30,310$29,120$34,230630$34,215
23Alaska$30,210$27,460$37,800740$29,514
24Minnesota$30,200$27,780$34,9807,150$30,622
25Florida$29,810$28,540$35,68037,100$28,826
26Utah$29,610$27,300$34,7204,950$29,950
27Pennsylvania$29,170$23,960$34,92018,020$29,896
28Missouri$29,130$28,600$34,5108,510$32,075
29Michigan$28,950$26,930$34,15012,620$30,088
30Montana$28,910$24,050$33,8601,260$30,546
31North Dakota$28,660$27,150$34,480800$32,217
32New Mexico$28,480$27,740$29,8502,670$30,885
33Nebraska$28,450$28,080$34,9602,830$31,575
34North Carolina$28,320$22,530$32,60015,160$30,024
35Iowa$28,210$24,540$31,8702,630$32,144
36Kansas$28,110$22,920$31,9904,540$31,210
37Wisconsin$28,060$22,050$32,9006,430$29,821
38Georgia$27,850$21,920$31,79017,300$28,922
39Ohio$27,550$24,300$33,30015,480$29,696
40Tennessee$27,490$22,310$30,18011,280$29,923
41Idaho$27,280$21,620$28,7102,360$28,567
42Kentucky$27,100$22,520$29,5505,120$30,058
43Texas$27,080$22,310$30,01035,550$27,901
44South Carolina$27,000$21,410$30,0907,990$28,800
45Indiana$26,920$22,210$30,9209,730$28,844
46Arkansas$26,760$24,380$28,8903,110$30,781
47Alabama$26,130$22,390$28,4705,400$29,418
48Oklahoma$24,740$21,830$31,0105,060$28,164
49West Virginia$24,420$22,030$27,4601,580$27,286
50Wyoming$22,660$21,440$29,360660$24,447
51Puerto Rico$22,480$21,840$22,5601,270N/A
52Louisiana$22,060$17,750$26,7306,440$25,009
53Mississippi$21,990$20,490$26,8402,660$25,290
54Guam$20,450$20,170$20,600250N/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 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop, that changes the ranking: Hawaii leads on raw pay at $47,070, while Hawaii leads once prices are taken into account at $42,810.

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

Host and Hostess, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop the most?

Hawaii reports the highest median wage for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop at $47,070 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Oregon ($40,720) and District of Columbia ($37,570).

Which state pays Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop the least?

Guam reports the lowest median for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop at $20,450 a year, $26,620 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts Hawaii first at $42,810 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $47,070. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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