Waiters and Waitresses pay in Rochester
$51,280avg. a year
$24.66 an hour · 6,070 employed
Waiters and Waitresses in the Rochester, NY metro area earn an average of $51,280 a year. That is $3,470 (6%) less than the New York average of $54,750. The U.S. average is $40,060.
$45,310Median pay
$24.66Average hourly
-6%vs. New York average
6,070Jobs in this metro
Other New York metro areas
Average pay for waiters and waitresses in other New York metro areas. Swipe to see all 12.
1138,720 jobs
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$55,000
$26.44 an hour
26,310 jobs
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
$54,580
$26.24 an hour
37,990 jobs
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
$54,310
$26.11 an hour
43,430 jobs
Syracuse, NY
$53,270
$25.61 an hour
53,930 jobs
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY
$53,260
$25.60 an hour
6620 jobs
Ithaca, NY
$51,830
$24.92 an hour
71,390 jobs
Binghamton, NY
$51,750
$24.88 an hour
81,280 jobs
Kingston, NY
$51,190
$24.61 an hour
9480 jobs
Elmira, NY
$49,940
$24.01 an hour
10990 jobs
Glens Falls, NY
$49,910
$24.00 an hour
111,790 jobs
Utica-Rome, NY
$49,090
$23.60 an hour
12710 jobs
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY
$48,940
$23.53 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
How Rochester compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroNew YorkU.S.
New York metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Rochester
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $34,520 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $45,760 |
| Bartenders | $50,800 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | $36,830 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $40,250 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $36,140 |
Questions and answers
How much do waiters and waitresses make in Rochester?
The average is $51,280 a year, and the median is $45,310. About 6,070 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the New York average?
That is $3,470 (6%) less than the New York average of $54,750.
Is this job common in Rochester?
It makes up 12.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 0.84 times the national share.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, occupation code 35-3031. Metro area: Rochester, NY metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 40380). Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.