Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of server salary by state for the United States:
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New York has the highest server salary of $36,333
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Louisiana has the lowest server salary of $20,657
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The national average salary for servers is $29,901
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The national hourly pay for servers is $14.38
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 servers 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 server 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 servers after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for server salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Servers By State
| Rank | State | Average Server Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $36,333 | $24,000 | $52,000 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $36,211 | $25,000 | $51,000 |
| 3 | Vermont | $35,964 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 4 | California | $34,392 | $23,000 | $50,000 |
| 5 | Washington | $33,958 | $23,000 | $49,000 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $32,712 | $22,000 | $47,000 |
| 7 | Oregon | $32,456 | $22,000 | $47,000 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $31,860 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $31,758 | $21,000 | $45,000 |
| 10 | Maine | $31,180 | $22,000 | $42,000 |
| 11 | Arizona | $30,663 | $21,000 | $44,000 |
| 12 | Maryland | $30,542 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 13 | Delaware | $29,806 | $20,000 | $43,000 |
| 14 | West Virginia | $29,566 | $20,000 | $43,000 |
| 15 | Hawaii | $29,032 | $20,000 | $41,000 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $28,521 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $28,367 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 18 | Minnesota | $28,351 | $19,000 | $42,000 |
| 19 | Michigan | $27,801 | $18,000 | $40,000 |
| 20 | Virginia | $27,584 | $18,000 | $40,000 |
| 21 | Colorado | $27,491 | $18,000 | $40,000 |
| 22 | Nevada | $25,707 | $17,000 | $37,000 |
| 23 | North Dakota | $25,552 | $17,000 | $37,000 |
| 24 | Missouri | $25,394 | $17,000 | $37,000 |
| 25 | Illinois | $24,886 | $16,000 | $36,000 |
| 26 | Alaska | $24,865 | $17,000 | $35,000 |
| 27 | Idaho | $24,650 | $16,000 | $35,000 |
| 28 | Ohio | $24,304 | $16,000 | $35,000 |
| 29 | Utah | $24,169 | $16,000 | $35,000 |
| 30 | Kentucky | $23,933 | $16,000 | $34,000 |
| 31 | Arkansas | $23,922 | $16,000 | $34,000 |
| 32 | Kansas | $23,718 | $16,000 | $34,000 |
| 33 | Florida | $23,627 | $16,000 | $34,000 |
| 34 | Georgia | $23,554 | $16,000 | $33,000 |
| 35 | Indiana | $23,552 | $16,000 | $34,000 |
| 36 | North Carolina | $23,463 | $16,000 | $33,000 |
| 37 | Texas | $23,294 | $15,000 | $34,000 |
| 38 | New Mexico | $23,219 | $15,000 | $33,000 |
| 39 | Wyoming | $23,122 | $15,000 | $33,000 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $22,666 | $15,000 | $32,000 |
| 41 | Iowa | $22,311 | $15,000 | $32,000 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $22,303 | $15,000 | $33,000 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $22,262 | $15,000 | $32,000 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $22,121 | $15,000 | $31,000 |
| 45 | Wisconsin | $21,866 | $14,000 | $32,000 |
| 46 | Nebraska | $21,723 | $14,000 | $31,000 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $21,654 | $14,000 | $31,000 |
| 48 | Alabama | $21,595 | $14,000 | $31,000 |
| 49 | Montana | $20,840 | $14,000 | $30,000 |
| 50 | Louisiana | $20,657 | $14,000 | $30,000 |
Methodology: Server Salary By State
To better understand server 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 servers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for servers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for servers.
Server Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for servers?
The highest-paid state for servers is New York with an average salary of $36,333 per year.
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What city pays servers the most?
Washington, DC pays servers the most with an average salary of $40,480 per year.
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What is the worst state for servers?
The worst state for servers is Louisiana with an average salary of $20,657 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.
