Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 35-9031

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

About 107,700 projected annual openings shape how to read Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop against Cooks, Private Household, Cooks, Fast Food, Dishwashers, Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop: Cooks, Private Household ($48K) , Cooks, Fast Food ($31K) , Dishwashers ($35K) , Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other ($36K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 35-9031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Provide guests with menus
  2. 2. Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas
  3. 3. Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and cust…
  4. 4. Assign patrons to tables suitable for their needs and according to rotation so that servers receive an appropriate number of seatings
  5. 5. Speak with patrons to ensure satisfaction with food and service, to respond to complaints, or to make conversation
  6. 6. Inspect dining and serving areas to ensure cleanliness and proper setup
  7. 7. Operate cash registers to accept payments for food and beverages
  8. 8. Supervise and coordinate activities of dining room staff to ensure that patrons receive prompt and courteous service
  9. 9. Answer telephone calls and respond to inquiries or transfer calls
  10. 10. Assist other restaurant workers by serving food and beverages, or by bussing tables
  11. 11. Inspect restrooms for cleanliness and availability of supplies, and clean restrooms when necessary
  12. 12. Direct patrons to coatrooms and waiting areas, such as lounges

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 35-9031 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.5 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.5
  2. 2. Speaking 3.1
  3. 3. Service Orientation 3.1
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 3.0
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 2.9
  6. 6. Monitoring 2.9
  7. 7. Coordination 2.9
  8. 8. Critical Thinking 2.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.5
  2. 2. English Language 3.7
  3. 3. Food Production 3.0
  4. 4. Psychology 2.5
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 2.4
  6. 6. Personnel and Human Resources 2.4
Projected annual openings
107,700
growth + transfers + exits
National median $31,200/yr
$31K
National median
↓ -2%
Growth 2024-2034
432,690
Estimated US jobs
Cooks, Private Household
Highest-pay peer · $48K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

1. Colorado $36,340
2. Hawaii $47,070
3. Massachusetts $34,960
4. Washington $37,270
5. Maryland $34,860
6. New York $36,490
7. Oregon $40,720
8. Maine $36,800
9. District of Columbia $37,570
10. California $36,640

Other Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Dishwashers $34,810
  2. 2. Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other $35,840
  3. 3. Cooks, Private Household $47,940
  4. 4. Cooks, Fast Food $30,890
  5. 5. Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers $33,980
  6. 6. Bartenders $34,340

Roughly 107,700 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop. Median pay is $31,200 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations.

Employment Projections expect -2% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining 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: Colorado at $36,340. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cooks, Private Household at $47,940. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop pay-rank #16 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

On the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations median table (17 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop lands at #16, 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 35-9031 · national median $31,200 · lower third of Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (#16/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 35-9031

Colorado · top state for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

$36K published median

Hawaii · #2 state pay

$47K · behind Colorado

Cooks, Private Household

Highest-pay peer vs Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop · $48K

Cooks, Fast Food

Lower-pay peer beside Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop · $31K

Compare Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop land on the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations median table? ▼
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop is pay-rank #16 of 17 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Fast Food and Counter Workers ($31K), Cooks, Fast Food ($31K), Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers ($34K), Bartenders ($34K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop. Leading ones include: Provide guests with menus; Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas; Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and cust…; Assign patrons to tables suitable for their needs and according to rotation so that servers receive an appropriate number of seatings. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop? ▼
For SOC 35-9031, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.5), Speaking (3.1), Service Orientation (3.1), Social Perceptiveness (3.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Food Production. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $31,200 as the national median for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop. The published 10th-90th range is $22,340 to $43,990. Beside Cooks, Private Household ($47,940), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop is -2%. Projected annual openings: about 107,700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop? ▼
Colorado ($36,340), Hawaii ($47,070), Massachusetts ($34,960) 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 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 35-9031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop. 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