---

Dishwashers: Career Overview

Clean dishes, kitchen, food preparation equipment, or utensils.

What Tasks Do Dishwashers Take On?

The core tasks performed by dishwashers span:

• Wash dishes, glassware, flatware, pots, or pans, using dishwashers or by hand.
• Maintain kitchen work areas, equipment, or utensils in clean and orderly condition.
• Place clean dishes, utensils, or cooking equipment in storage areas.
• Sweep or scrub floors.
• Stock supplies, such as food or utensils, in serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, or salad bars.
• Clean or prepare various foods for cooking or serving.
• Sort and remove trash, placing it in designated pickup areas.
• Transfer supplies or equipment between storage and work areas, by hand or using hand trucks.

What Dishwashers Need to Know

Top dishwashers combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

The abilities most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Types of Dishwashers Jobs

People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:

• Breakdown Person
• Bus Person
• Busser
• Dish Machine Operator (DMO)
• Dish Person
• Dish Room Worker
• Dish Runner
• Dish Stacker

How Many Dishwashers Are There?

The U.S. employs around 309,184 dishwashers working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +4.1% over the projection horizon.

Salary for Dishwashers

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$39,160
Hourly median	$18.83
10th percentile	$27,070
25th percentile	$33,115
75th percentile	$45,205
90th percentile	$51,250

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

Dishwashers Salary by State

State	Annual median salary
Washington	$37,600
District of Columbia	$37,540
California	$37,440
Massachusetts	$37,350
Colorado	$37,140
Vermont	$36,430
Hawaii	$35,990
New York	$35,410
Oregon	$35,400
Illinois	$35,200
Connecticut	$34,970
Arizona	$34,850
Maine	$34,780
New Jersey	$34,640
Rhode Island	$34,260
Alaska	$34,080
Nevada	$33,950
New Hampshire	$33,390
Minnesota	$32,350
Virginia	$31,950
Maryland	$31,520
Delaware	$31,260
Missouri	$31,000
Utah	$30,130
North Dakota	$29,660
Florida	$29,600
Tennessee	$29,570
New Mexico	$29,490
Texas	$29,250
Georgia	$29,230
South Carolina	$29,200
North Carolina	$29,150
Pennsylvania	$29,100
Ohio	$29,000
Michigan	$28,990
Nebraska	$28,660
Wyoming	$28,610
Indiana	$28,320
Montana	$28,270
Idaho	$28,190
Kentucky	$28,140
Wisconsin	$27,650
South Dakota	$27,590
Virgin Islands	$27,290
Alabama	$27,230
Arkansas	$27,090
Iowa	$26,910
Kansas	$26,740
Oklahoma	$26,570
West Virginia	$25,200
Mississippi	$23,350
Louisiana	$23,250
Puerto Rico	$20,940
Guam	$20,220

Top-Paying U.S. Regions

Compensation for dishwashers shift depending on where you work. Top regions by median wage:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Far Western US	$36,888	22.6%	1.42
New England	$35,890	6.0%	1.28
Middle Atlantic	$33,161	15.5%	1.05
Rocky Mountains	$33,057	3.8%	0.99
Great Lakes	$30,211	11.8%	0.84
Southwest	$30,154	11.2%	0.90
Plains States	$30,135	5.5%	0.82
Southeast	$28,969	23.1%	0.99

Where the Jobs Cluster

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	CA	$42,950	3,860
Kahului-Wailuku, HI	HI	$42,940	750
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	CA	$40,180	8,440
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	WA	$39,490	7,150
Napa, CA	CA	$38,640	590
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	CO	$38,140	4,510
Burlington-South Burlington, VT	VT	$38,100	350
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	CA	$37,980	1,320

Which Industries Hire Dishwashers

The bulk of dishwashers work in these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Accommodation and Food Services	407,320	$33,600
Health Care and Social Assistance	17,470	$34,140
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	15,350	$34,020
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	9,720	$33,300
Retail Trade	6,970	$34,760
Manufacturing	5,720	$33,390
Other Services (except Public Administration)	2,860	$31,910
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	2,270	$34,650

Below are examples of industries where dishwashers work:

Tools and Technology

• Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
• Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)

Work Environment

The work environment for dishwashers reflects the following characteristics:

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Spend Time Standing
• Health and Safety of Other Workers
• Contact With Others

How to Become Dishwashers

Entry-level dishwashers positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

• Cooks, Fast Food (Supplemental)
• Cooks, Short Order (Primary-Long)
• Food Preparation Workers (Primary-Short)
• Fast Food and Counter Workers (Primary-Long)
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant (Primary-Long)
• Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers (Primary-Short)
• Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (Primary-Long)
• Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (Primary-Short)

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 35-9021.00 (Dishwashers).