SALARY · WAITERS AND WAITRESSES · CALIFORNIA

Waiters and Waitresses salary in California

If California is on your shortlist, start here. The median annual pay for waiters and waitresses was $36,080. That one figure will not decide a move on its own, but it sets the range for everything else, from housing to how much you can save.

MEDIAN ANNUAL SALARY

$36,080

$17 per hour at the median · That is $850 (2.4 percent) above the national median of $35,230 for this occupation.

$44,600Mean annual salary
$21Mean hourly wage
$229,970People employed in this job in California

Salary range

25th: $34,900Median: $36,08075th: $39,870
MeasureAnnual
25th percentile$34,900
Median (50th percentile)$36,080
75th percentile$39,870
Mean$44,600

The middle half of workers earned from $34,900 to $39,870 a year. The gap between the mean and the median tells its own story. When the mean sits above the median, a smaller group at the top is pulling the average up. When the two are close, pay is more even across the field.

What stays in your pocket on the median salary

ESTIMATED TAKE-HOME PAY

$30,779 a year
$2,565 a month
Federal tax $2,150 · FICA $2,760 · State tax $392
Read this before you use the take-home figure. It is a single-filer estimate using the 2026 standard deduction. It leaves out credits, other deductions, local taxes, and retirement or health deductions. Your actual paycheck can differ, and for states without a verified 2026 table in this build, state tax is still to be added once its table is verified.

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