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The differences between food servers and restaurant servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food server has an average salary of $25,209, which is higher than the $24,558 average annual salary of a restaurant server.
The top three skills for a food server include beverage orders, wine and cleanliness. The most important skills for a restaurant server are wine, exceptional dining, and guest satisfaction.
| Food Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Yearly salary | $25,209 | $24,558 |
| Hourly rate | $12.12 | $11.81 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,455 | 141,250 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 42 | 28 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A Food Server specializes in helping customers attain a pleasant dining experience while ensuring to meet all food handling and health regulation standards. Most of the responsibilities revolve around greeting customers and directing them to comfortable seats, responding to their inquires and taking their orders, and courteously suggesting options. Aside from serving meals, Food Servers must also accept payments, organize order receipts, replenish stocks in food containers and drinking stations, and clean tables for the new customers.
Also called food servers, restaurant servers perform food preparation, cleaning duties, and customer service in casual dining eateries and restaurants. The food servers stock supplies, handle credit cards and the cash register, and clean restaurant counters and tables. They provide assistance to restaurant patrons to take orders, deliver food, and answer customer questions. The skills they need include trustworthiness, organization, customer relations, and communication skills.
Food servers and restaurant servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Average salary | $25,209 | $24,558 |
| Salary range | Between $18,000 And $34,000 | Between $15,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Vermont | California |
| Best paying company | Gettysburg College | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Agriculture |
There are a few differences between a food server and a restaurant server in terms of educational background:
| Food Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between food servers' and restaurant servers' demographics:
| Food Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Average age | 42 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0% | Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 8.7% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |