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Pay by state · 54 areas

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 Mississippi at $21,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $31,200. 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
$47,070Hawaii
National median
$31,200BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$21,990Mississippi
Areas reporting
54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop

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$47,070
  2. 2Oregon$40,720
  3. 3District of Columbia$37,570
  4. 4Washington$37,270
  5. 5Maine$36,800

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Mississippi$21,990
  2. 2Louisiana$22,060
  3. 3Wyoming$22,660
  4. 4West Virginia$24,420
  5. 5Oklahoma$24,740

All states

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
#
1HIHawaii
$47,070
$31,160$57,3102,650$42,810
2OROregon
$40,720
$33,280$48,8505,740$39,396
3DCDistrict of Columbia
$37,570
$37,050$44,3102,450$34,185
4WAWashington
$37,270
$35,720$45,0409,530$34,828
5MEMaine
$36,800
$33,980$41,8601,460$37,919
6CACalifornia
$36,640
$35,200$42,86041,100$33,092
7NYNew York
$36,490
$34,150$43,19018,640$33,812
8COColorado
$36,340
$31,440$43,6009,490$35,264
9MAMassachusetts
$34,960
$31,200$36,49013,540$33,057
10MDMaryland
$34,860
$32,280$36,2707,390$33,213
11AZArizona
$34,740
$31,200$38,19010,710$34,506
12CTConnecticut
$34,210
$34,010$35,5003,670$33,018
13NJNew Jersey
$34,050
$32,220$36,4909,420$31,295
14NHNew Hampshire
$33,920
$28,750$35,8602,130$32,564
15VIU.S. Virgin Islands
$33,540
$30,350$38,81090N/A
16RIRhode Island
$31,400
$31,240$35,830N/A$30,700
17DEDelaware
$31,200
$31,200$33,6901,680$31,260
18ILIllinois
$31,200
$31,200$35,61016,500$31,213
19NVNevada
$31,170
$26,690$44,7406,570$31,177
20VTVermont
$31,080
$30,060$38,2501,060$31,728
21VAVirginia
$30,490
$28,380$35,44010,890$30,157
22SDSouth Dakota
$30,310
$29,120$34,230630$34,215
23AKAlaska
$30,210
$27,460$37,800740$29,514
24MNMinnesota
$30,200
$27,780$34,9807,150$30,622
25FLFlorida
$29,810
$28,540$35,68037,100$28,826
26UTUtah
$29,610
$27,300$34,7204,950$29,950
27PAPennsylvania
$29,170
$23,960$34,92018,020$29,896
28MOMissouri
$29,130
$28,600$34,5108,510$32,075
29MIMichigan
$28,950
$26,930$34,15012,620$30,088
30MTMontana
$28,910
$24,050$33,8601,260$30,546
31NDNorth Dakota
$28,660
$27,150$34,480800$32,217
32NMNew Mexico
$28,480
$27,740$29,8502,670$30,885
33NENebraska
$28,450
$28,080$34,9602,830$31,575
34NCNorth Carolina
$28,320
$22,530$32,60015,160$30,024
35IAIowa
$28,210
$24,540$31,8702,630$32,144
36KSKansas
$28,110
$22,920$31,9904,540$31,210
37WIWisconsin
$28,060
$22,050$32,9006,430$29,821
38GAGeorgia
$27,850
$21,920$31,79017,300$28,922
39OHOhio
$27,550
$24,300$33,30015,480$29,696
40TNTennessee
$27,490
$22,310$30,18011,280$29,923
41IDIdaho
$27,280
$21,620$28,7102,360$28,567
42KYKentucky
$27,100
$22,520$29,5505,120$30,058
43TXTexas
$27,080
$22,310$30,01035,550$27,901
44SCSouth Carolina
$27,000
$21,410$30,0907,990$28,800
45INIndiana
$26,920
$22,210$30,9209,730$28,844
46ARArkansas
$26,760
$24,380$28,8903,110$30,781
47ALAlabama
$26,130
$22,390$28,4705,400$29,418
48OKOklahoma
$24,740
$21,830$31,0105,060$28,164
49WVWest Virginia
$24,420
$22,030$27,4601,580$27,286
50WYWyoming
$22,660
$21,440$29,360660$24,447
51PRPuerto Rico
$22,480
$21,840$22,5601,270N/A
52LALouisiana
$22,060
$17,750$26,7306,440$25,009
53MSMississippi
$21,990
$20,490$26,8402,660$25,290
54GUGuam
$20,450
$20,170$20,600250N/A

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 hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop, the adjustment does not change the leader: Hawaii is first on raw pay and still first 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.

Questions

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?

Among the 50 states and DC, Mississippi reports the lowest median for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop at $21,990 a year, $25,080 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $33,540, Puerto Rico reports $22,480 and Guam reports $20,450.

Is the highest-paying state the best for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop after cost of living?

Yes. Hawaii stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $42,810 in national-average dollars from a raw $47,070. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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