Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of bartender salary by state for the United States:
-
Hawaii has the highest bartender salary of $36,832
-
Nebraska has the lowest bartender salary of $17,582
-
The national average salary for bartenders is $26,362
-
The national hourly pay for bartenders is $12.67
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do bartenders get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for bartender by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for bartenders after this adjustment? That would be Hawaii.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for bartender salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Bartenders By State
| Rank | State | Average Bartender Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $36,832 | $30,000 | $43,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $33,311 | $19,000 | $58,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $32,671 | $21,000 | $48,000 |
| 4 | California | $32,228 | $19,000 | $52,000 |
| 5 | New York | $31,884 | $18,000 | $56,000 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $31,683 | $17,000 | $56,000 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $31,082 | $17,000 | $55,000 |
| 8 | North Dakota | $30,334 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 9 | Oregon | $29,442 | $19,000 | $44,000 |
| 10 | Vermont | $28,261 | $16,000 | $48,000 |
| 11 | Arizona | $28,184 | $17,000 | $46,000 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $27,101 | $18,000 | $39,000 |
| 13 | Wyoming | $26,902 | $17,000 | $40,000 |
| 14 | Maine | $26,520 | $15,000 | $45,000 |
| 15 | Virginia | $26,474 | $15,000 | $44,000 |
| 16 | Maryland | $26,361 | $15,000 | $44,000 |
| 17 | Colorado | $25,692 | $16,000 | $39,000 |
| 18 | Idaho | $25,450 | $16,000 | $38,000 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $24,628 | $13,000 | $43,000 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $24,404 | $13,000 | $43,000 |
| 21 | Michigan | $24,296 | $15,000 | $38,000 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $24,192 | $14,000 | $40,000 |
| 23 | Kentucky | $23,867 | $14,000 | $38,000 |
| 24 | Louisiana | $23,272 | $13,000 | $39,000 |
| 25 | Nevada | $23,103 | $14,000 | $37,000 |
| 26 | Iowa | $22,987 | $15,000 | $34,000 |
| 27 | Florida | $22,859 | $12,000 | $40,000 |
| 28 | Indiana | $22,389 | $14,000 | $35,000 |
| 29 | Delaware | $22,326 | $13,000 | $38,000 |
| 30 | Georgia | $22,321 | $13,000 | $37,000 |
| 31 | Missouri | $22,052 | $14,000 | $34,000 |
| 32 | Pennsylvania | $21,970 | $12,000 | $37,000 |
| 33 | Illinois | $21,923 | $14,000 | $33,000 |
| 34 | New Mexico | $21,736 | $13,000 | $35,000 |
| 35 | Texas | $21,697 | $12,000 | $36,000 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $21,549 | $13,000 | $35,000 |
| 37 | Ohio | $21,254 | $13,000 | $34,000 |
| 38 | South Dakota | $20,871 | $14,000 | $30,000 |
| 39 | Kansas | $20,859 | $13,000 | $32,000 |
| 40 | Montana | $20,826 | $14,000 | $30,000 |
| 41 | West Virginia | $20,540 | $12,000 | $33,000 |
| 42 | Wisconsin | $20,372 | $13,000 | $31,000 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $20,328 | $12,000 | $34,000 |
| 44 | Alabama | $19,872 | $11,000 | $33,000 |
| 45 | Utah | $18,632 | $11,000 | $28,000 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $18,313 | $11,000 | $29,000 |
| 47 | Alaska | $18,305 | $14,000 | $22,000 |
| 48 | Tennessee | $18,241 | $11,000 | $29,000 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $17,685 | $10,000 | $29,000 |
| 50 | Nebraska | $17,582 | $11,000 | $26,000 |
Methodology: Bartender Salary By State
To better understand bartender pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for bartenders by state.
We took the average annual salary data for bartenders from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for bartenders.
Bartender Salary By State FAQs
-
What is the highest-paid state for bartenders?
The highest-paid state for bartenders is Hawaii with an average salary of $36,832 per year.
-
What city pays bartenders the most?
Seattle, WA pays bartenders the most with an average salary of $32,743 per year.
-
What is the worst state for bartenders?
The worst state for bartenders is Nebraska with an average salary of $17,582 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
