Waiters and Waitresses pay in Madison
$38,450avg. a year
$18.49 an hour · 5,130 employed
Waiters and Waitresses in the Madison, WI metro area earn an average of $38,450 a year. That is $3,880 (11%) more than the Wisconsin average of $34,570. The U.S. average is $40,060.
$30,910Median pay
$18.49Average hourly
+11%vs. Wisconsin average
5,130Jobs in this metro
Other Wisconsin metro areas
Average pay for waiters and waitresses in other Wisconsin metro areas. Swipe to see all 14.
11,490 jobs
Appleton, WI
$36,600
$17.60 an hour
2640 jobs
Sheboygan, WI
$36,160
$17.39 an hour
3950 jobs
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
$35,970
$17.29 an hour
41,160 jobs
Eau Claire, WI
$35,700
$17.17 an hour
510,020 jobs
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
$35,250
$16.95 an hour
6850 jobs
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI
$35,200
$16.92 an hour
7960 jobs
Kenosha, WI
$34,980
$16.82 an hour
8720 jobs
Wausau, WI
$34,420
$16.55 an hour
9820 jobs
Janesville-Beloit, WI
$34,280
$16.48 an hour
102,170 jobs
Green Bay, WI
$34,140
$16.41 an hour
11430 jobs
Fond du Lac, WI
$33,040
$15.88 an hour
121,270 jobs
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
$32,770
$15.76 an hour
1325,620 jobs
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
$31,300
$15.05 an hour
142,100 jobs
Duluth, MN-WI
$28,810
$13.85 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 Madison compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroWisconsinU.S.
Wisconsin metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Madison
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $30,970 |
| Bartenders | $27,510 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | $37,220 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $39,150 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $47,390 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $36,760 |
Questions and answers
How much do waiters and waitresses make in Madison?
The average is $38,450 a year, and the median is $30,910. About 5,130 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the Wisconsin average?
That is $3,880 (11%) more than the Wisconsin average of $34,570.
Is this job common in Madison?
It makes up 12.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 0.86 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: Madison, WI metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 31540). 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.