Bartender vs waitress

The differences between bartenders and waitresses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a bartender has an average salary of $26,362, which is higher than the $24,770 average annual salary of a waitress.

The top three skills for a bartender include wine, bartending and exceptional guest. The most important skills for a waitress are food orders, food preparation, and customer orders.

Bartender vs waitress overview

	Bartender	Waitress
Yearly salary	$26,362	$24,770
Hourly rate	$12.67	$11.91
Growth rate	18%	10%
Number of jobs	57,518	87,315
Job satisfaction	4.67	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	34	28
Years of experience	2	-

What does a bartender do?

A bartender is an expert in mixing and serving alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, either directly to customers at the bar or through waitstaff who place drink orders for dine-in or room customers. Bartenders should have a wide range of knowledge of drink recipes and be able to assess customers' needs and preferences to make recommendations. They should mix drinks accurately, quickly, and without waste. They are also responsible for checking the customers' identification to ensure they are of legal drinking age and monitor the level of their intoxication.

What does a waitress do?

Waitresses are responsible for ensuring that guests are given proper attention during their visit to the restaurant. They guide guests to their table, provide menu boards, answer any questions the guests may have, take the guests' order, and communicate the order to the kitchen. Once the order is ready, waitresses collect the food from the kitchen and serve it to the guests. They then give guests time to finish their meal. Upon the guests' request, waitresses bring them their bill and wait for them to finish paying up. Once the guests leave, waitresses are responsible for ensuring that the table is ready for the next guests.

Bartender vs waitress salary

Bartenders and waitresses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Bartender	Waitress
Average salary	$26,362	$24,770
Salary range	Between $16,000 And $43,000	Between $17,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Hawaii	New York
Best paying company	OTTO	New York Institute of Technology
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between bartender and waitress education

There are a few differences between a bartender and a waitress in terms of educational background:

	Bartender	Waitress
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Bartender vs waitress demographics

Here are the differences between bartenders' and waitresses' demographics:

	Bartender	Waitress
Average age	34	28
Gender ratio	Male, 39.7% Female, 60.3%	Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 3.7% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between bartender and waitress duties and responsibilities

Bartender example responsibilities.

Train and manage all new bartenders achieving significant results in their productivity and knowledge.
Manage bar and staff, tend bar, DJ and operate karaoke equipment.
Manage and promote company Facebook account.
Provide seamless beverage service, managing inventory and operating POS terminal.
Manage payroll and timekeeping including completion of proper paperwork for new hires and terminations.
Direct bartending operations, overseeing beverage service, scheduling, inventory management and customer service.

Waitress example responsibilities.

Manage a recurring book of business of top VIP clients secure through networking.
Relay orders to bar and kitchen by quickly and accurately recording guest selections and keying them into the POS computer system.
wait tables, handle money, exceed guest expectations, serve food and drinks, micros, clean, side work.
Increase store sales by upselling merchandise.
Enter order/payment information into micros system, deliver receipt and change to the customer.
Bring wine selections to tables with appropriate glasses, and pour the wines for customers.

Bartender vs waitress skills

Common bartender skills

Wine, 23%
Bartending, 10%
Exceptional Guest, 7%
Cleanliness, 6%
Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 5%
Cash Handling, 4%

Common waitress skills

Food Orders, 13%
Food Preparation, 9%
Customer Orders, 8%
POS, 7%
Drink Orders, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Bartender
Bartender vs Waitress

Updated January 8, 2025

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