Waiters and Waitresses in North Carolina

Get the information you need to know about working as a Waiter or Waitress.

You’re in luck! Jobs for Waiters and Waitresses in North Carolina are projected to grow and these jobs tend to pay higher than average.

• Projected employment for Waiters and Waitresses in North Carolina is growing faster than average.

• Waiters and Waitresses in North Carolina earn lower salaries than the typical U.S. wage earner.

How Many Waiters and Waitresses Work in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, there were 82,600 people working as Waiters and Waitresses in the year 2018.

There were 80,650 Waiters and Waitresses employed in this state in 2017.

That’s growth of 1,950 jobs between 2017 and 2018.

The typical state has 34,020 Waiters and Waitresses working in it, which means North Carolina has more Waiters and Waitresses than average.

Job Projections for North Carolina

Jobs for Waiters and Waitresses in this state are growing at a rate of 10.6% which is faster than the nationwide estimated projection of 7.0%.

North Carolina Annual Job Openings

The BLS estimates 16,490 annual job openings, and a total of 87,720 jobs for North Carolina Waiters and Waitresses in 2026.

Nationwide, the prediction is 522,700 annual jobs and 2,783,000 total jobs in 2026.

What do Waiters and Waitresses Make in North Carolina?

In 2018 wages for Waiters and Waitresses ranged from $16,450 to $34,440 with $19,140 being the median annual salary.

Broken down to an hourly rate, workers in this field made anywhere from $7.91 to $16.56. The median hourly rate was $9.2.

In 2017 the median pay for this field was $9.04 an hour.

The hourly rate grew by $0.16.

The median salary in North Carolina is higher than the nationwide median salary.

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Top North Carolina Metros for Waiters and Waitresses

The table below shows some of the metros in this state with the most Waiters and Waitresses.

Metro	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	22,780	$19,450
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	16,280	$19,770
Raleigh, NC	11,200	$20,740
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	7,740	$18,800
Greensboro-High Point, NC	5,920	$18,630
Asheville, NC	5,310	$19,310
Winston-Salem, NC	4,680	$18,140
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	4,510	$20,210
Wilmington, NC	3,250	$19,060
Fayetteville, NC	2,330	$19,190
Greenville, NC	2,310	$18,710
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	2,270	$19,300
Burlington, NC	1,420	$18,090
Jacksonville, NC	1,230	$18,150
Rocky Mount, NC	1,050	$18,260
Goldsboro, NC	810	$18,800
New Bern, NC	750	$18,670

Top States for Waiters and Waitresses Employment

The table below shows the states where most Waiters and Waitresses work.

State	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
California	286,930	$25,090
Texas	216,670	$19,210
Florida	211,860	$19,620
New York	167,250	$28,410
Pennsylvania	98,970	$22,850
Ohio	94,720	$19,490
Illinois	83,910	$19,410
North Carolina	82,600	$19,140
Georgia	81,920	$18,500
Michigan	80,880	$20,020
Virginia	72,420	$20,030
Massachusetts	66,250	$27,020
New Jersey	58,820	$25,480
Washington	54,770	$27,720
Tennessee	53,200	$18,290
Minnesota	50,490	$22,360
Colorado	50,390	$21,230
Indiana	49,530	$19,210
Arizona	48,830	$23,370
Missouri	48,060	$19,080

Below are the states where Waiters and Waitresses get paid the most:

State	Annual Median Salary
Hawaii	$48,860
Vermont	$31,880
District of Columbia	$30,240
New York	$28,410
Washington	$27,720
Massachusetts	$27,020
New Jersey	$25,480
California	$25,090
Oregon	$24,130
Rhode Island	$23,980

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online

More about our data sources and methodologies.