What Do Food Server Do?
Food Server Definition Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars.
Life As a Food Server: What Do They Do?
- Monitor food preparation or serving techniques to ensure that proper procedures are followed.
- Determine where patients or patrons would like to eat their meals and help them get situated.
- Clean or sterilize dishes, kitchen utensils, equipment, or facilities.
- Total checks, present them to customers, and accept payment for services.
- Record amounts and types of special food items served to customers.
- Carry food, silverware, or linen on trays or use carts to carry trays.
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Food Server Needed Skills
When polled, Food Servers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Related Job Titles for this Occupation:
- Room Service Clerk
- Car Attendant
- Food Service Attendant
- Tray Server
- Dietary Assistant
Are There Job Opportunities for Food Servers?
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 263,800 jobs in the United States for Food Server. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 10.2% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 26,900 new jobs for Food Server by 2026. The BLS estimates 43,100 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Food Server are Utah, Arizona, and Idaho. Watch out if you plan on working in Wyoming, District of Columbia, or Connecticut. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Food Servers Salary
The salary for Food Servers ranges between about $18,030 and $35,150 a year.

Food Servers who work in Hawaii, New York, or District of Columbia, make the highest salaries.
How much do Food Servers make in different U.S. states?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $21,550 |
Alaska | $29,780 |
Arizona | $27,320 |
Arkansas | $20,560 |
California | $30,350 |
Colorado | $26,730 |
Connecticut | $28,690 |
Delaware | $24,700 |
District of Columbia | $32,740 |
Florida | $22,570 |
Georgia | $22,020 |
Hawaii | $38,480 |
Idaho | $23,740 |
Illinois | $24,450 |
Indiana | $23,050 |
Iowa | $23,870 |
Kansas | $20,390 |
Kentucky | $22,370 |
Louisiana | $20,860 |
Maine | $24,230 |
Maryland | $24,730 |
Massachusetts | $29,210 |
Michigan | $25,220 |
Minnesota | $27,660 |
Mississippi | $19,330 |
Missouri | $22,120 |
Montana | $22,340 |
Nebraska | $23,330 |
Nevada | $25,570 |
New Hampshire | $23,530 |
New Jersey | $25,190 |
New Mexico | $20,530 |
New York | $32,500 |
North Carolina | $21,180 |
North Dakota | $27,500 |
Ohio | $22,370 |
Oklahoma | $21,450 |
Oregon | $27,380 |
Pennsylvania | $23,250 |
Rhode Island | $25,880 |
South Carolina | $21,750 |
South Dakota | $26,930 |
Tennessee | $21,830 |
Texas | $21,170 |
Utah | $24,950 |
Vermont | $30,970 |
Virginia | $22,210 |
Washington | $27,040 |
West Virginia | $22,190 |
Wisconsin | $22,160 |
Wyoming | $22,410 |
What Tools & Technology do Food Servers Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Food Servers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Windows
- Point of sale POS software
- CBORD Nutrition Service Suite
Becoming a Food Server
What education is needed to be a Food Server?

What work experience do I need to become a Food Server?

Where Food Servers Are Employed

The table below shows the approximate number of Food Servers employed by various industries.

Related Careers
Career changers with experience as a Food Server sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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