Bartenders
Mix and serve drinks to patrons, directly or through waitstaff.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Bartenders. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $20,110 | $9.67 |
| 25th | $27,400 | $13.17 |
| 50th · Median | $34,340 | $16.51 |
| 75th | $47,570 | $22.87 |
| 90th | $73,770 | $35.47 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
Where does your number sit?
Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.
This compares wage amounts to published percentile thresholds. It does not estimate your personal percentile, adjust for your experience, or compare total compensation. Match the wage definition and occupation group before using the result.
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (4)
Typical tasks
- Clean glasses, utensils, and bar equipment.
- Collect money for drinks served.
- Balance cash receipts.
- Check identification of customers to verify age requirements for purchase of alcohol.
- Clean bars, work areas, and tables.
- Attempt to limit problems and liability related to customers' excessive drinking by taking steps such as persuading customers to stop drinking, or ordering taxis or other transportation for intoxicated patrons.
Expand more tasks (14)
- Take beverage orders from serving staff or directly from patrons.
- Serve wine, and bottled or draft beer.
- Plan, organize, and control the operations of a cocktail lounge or bar.
- Stock bar with beer, wine, liquor, and related supplies such as ice, glassware, napkins, or straws.
- Serve snacks or food items to customers seated at the bar.
- Mix ingredients, such as liquor, soda, water, sugar, and bitters, to prepare cocktails and other drinks.
- Slice and pit fruit for garnishing drinks.
- Ask customers who become loud and obnoxious to leave, or physically remove them.
- Arrange bottles and glasses to make attractive displays.
- Create drink recipes.
- Supervise the work of bar staff and other bartenders.
- Order or requisition liquors and supplies.
- Plan bar menus.
- Prepare appetizers such as pickles, cheese, and cold meats.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Expand more skills (29)
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Explore wages by location.
571 retained state and local wage references are available. Start with these selected locations, or search the full market directory for this career.
Selected states
Selected metro and nonmetro areas
Available links reflect retained source coverage for this career.
Find the next step that fits.
Look at current disclosed job ranges, explore supported employer salary evidence, or build a proposed hiring range with your own assumptions.