Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 35-3011

Bartenders

About 129,600 projected annual openings shape how to read Bartenders against Chefs and Head Cooks, Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers, Food Preparation Workers, Cooks, Private Household.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Bartenders: Chefs and Head Cooks ($62K) , Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers ($34K) , Food Preparation Workers ($35K) , Cooks, Private Household ($48K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Bartenders publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 35-3011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Clean glasses, utensils, and bar equipment
  2. 2. Collect money for drinks served
  3. 3. Balance cash receipts
  4. 4. Check identification of customers to verify age requirements for purchase of alcohol
  5. 5. Clean bars, work areas, and tables
  6. 6. Attempt to limit problems and liability related to customers' excessive drinking by taking steps such as persuading customers to stop dri…
  7. 7. Take beverage orders from serving staff or directly from patrons
  8. 8. Serve wine, and bottled or draft beer
  9. 9. Plan, organize, and control the operations of a cocktail lounge or bar
  10. 10. Stock bar with beer, wine, liquor, and related supplies such as ice, glassware, napkins, or straws
  11. 11. Serve snacks or food items to customers seated at the bar
  12. 12. Supervise the work of bar staff and other bartenders

Bartenders: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 35-3011 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.8
  2. 2. Service Orientation 3.6
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 3.3
  4. 4. Speaking 3.1
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.1
  6. 6. Coordination 3.1
  7. 7. Persuasion 3.1
  8. 8. Reading Comprehension 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.4
  2. 2. English Language 3.6
  3. 3. Education and Training 3.2
  4. 4. Sales and Marketing 3.1
  5. 5. Administration and Management 3.0
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.0
Projected annual openings
129,600
growth + transfers + exits
National median $34,340/yr
$34K
National median
↑ +6%
Growth 2024-2034
756,390
Estimated US jobs
Chefs and Head Cooks
Highest-pay peer · $62K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Bartenders

1. New York $61,210
2. Arizona $45,070
3. District of Columbia $53,920
4. Vermont $45,450
5. Virgin Islands $61,380
6. Maine $48,920
7. Washington $55,830
8. New Jersey $44,020
9. Hawaii $76,490
10. Virginia $47,070

Other Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Food Preparation Workers $35,320
  2. 2. Cooks, Private Household $47,940
  3. 3. Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria $37,450
  4. 4. Chefs and Head Cooks $62,470
  5. 5. Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers $33,980
  6. 6. Cooks, Short Order $35,880

Roughly 129,600 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Bartenders. Median pay is $34,340 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +6% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New York at $61,210. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Chefs and Head Cooks at $62,470. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Bartenders pay-rank #13 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

On the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations median table (17 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Bartenders lands at #13, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 35-3011 · national median $34,340 · lower third of Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (#13/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Bartenders salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 35-3011

New York · top state for Bartenders

$61K published median

Arizona · #2 state pay

$45K · behind New York

Chefs and Head Cooks

Highest-pay peer vs Bartenders · $62K

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers

Lower-pay peer beside Bartenders · $34K

Compare Bartenders

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Openings and labor-flow next reads

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Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Bartenders land on the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations median table? ▼
Bartenders is pay-rank #13 of 17 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers ($34K), Fast Food and Counter Workers ($31K), Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop ($31K), Cooks, Fast Food ($31K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do bartenders do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Bartenders. Leading ones include: Clean glasses, utensils, and bar equipment; Collect money for drinks served; Balance cash receipts; Check identification of customers to verify age requirements for purchase of alcohol. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for bartenders? ▼
For SOC 35-3011, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.8), Service Orientation (3.6), Social Perceptiveness (3.3), Speaking (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Education and Training. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Bartenders? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $34,340 as the national median for Bartenders. The published 10th-90th range is $20,110 to $73,770. Beside Chefs and Head Cooks ($62,470), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Bartenders? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Bartenders is +6%. Projected annual openings: about 129,600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Bartenders? ▼
New York ($61,210), Arizona ($45,070), District of Columbia ($53,920) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Bartenders card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 35-3011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Bartenders. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics