Restaurant server vs waitstaff

The differences between restaurant servers and waitstaffs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a waitstaff has an average salary of $25,104, which is higher than the $24,558 average annual salary of a restaurant server.

The top three skills for a restaurant server include wine, exceptional dining and guest satisfaction. The most important skills for a waitstaff are food service, beverage orders, and culinary.

Restaurant server vs waitstaff overview

	Restaurant Server	Waitstaff
Yearly salary	$24,558	$25,104
Hourly rate	$11.81	$12.07
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	141,250	130,467
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	-	-

What does a restaurant server do?

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.

What does a waitstaff do?

The waitstaff takes responsibility for tasks like recommending dishes based on the tastes and preferences of guests, accepting payments, and taking orders. Waitstaff delivers food to tables, ensures outstanding guest experience, and accepts payments. They work with diligence to get outstanding service quality and work with the other staff. It is part of their job to show customers their seats and provide menu options. They attend to tables for food service and guarantee cleanliness standard compliance.

Restaurant server vs waitstaff salary

Restaurant servers and waitstaffs have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Restaurant Server	Waitstaff
Average salary	$24,558	$25,104
Salary range	Between $15,000 And $37,000	Between $19,000 And $32,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Falmouth, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Mayo Clinic
Best paying industry	Agriculture	Health Care

Differences between restaurant server and waitstaff education

There are a few differences between a restaurant server and a waitstaff in terms of educational background:

	Restaurant Server	Waitstaff
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Restaurant server vs waitstaff demographics

Here are the differences between restaurant servers' and waitstaffs' demographics:

	Restaurant Server	Waitstaff
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2%	Male, 27.3% Female, 72.7%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between restaurant server and waitstaff duties and responsibilities

Restaurant server example responsibilities.

Demonstrate adequate culinary and Italian wine knowledge through suggestive selling.
Input orders in micros and issue guest check for each order.
Prepare the groceries for the customer in their request baggage handing.3.
Maintain clean, sanitize FOH area and ensure health & safety and hygiene procedures and standards are meet.
Work with operations manager in ordering and setting up all FOH systems need in opening a new restaurant.
Provide thorough knowledge of the restaurant's menu to make recommendations or answer questions, and enter POS charges.

Waitstaff example responsibilities.

Set up, work in, and manage the private room events as both bartender and waiter.
Assist with stocking of pantry when groceries arrive.
Cater private events and perform light bartending duties.
Increase total restaurant sales by upselling specials and top-shelf liquors.
Work regularly on the pass as well as a waiter.
Offer meal suggestions base on diverse culinary repertoire and expert food knowledge.

Restaurant server vs waitstaff skills

Common restaurant server skills

Wine, 28%
Exceptional Dining, 6%
Guest Satisfaction, 5%
Cleanliness, 5%
POS, 5%
Food Service, 5%

Common waitstaff skills

Food Service, 23%
Beverage Orders, 19%
Culinary, 19%
Team Work, 16%
Meal Orders, 8%
Wine, 3%

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Restaurant Server vs Waitstaff

Updated January 8, 2025

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