SALARY · FOOD SERVERS, NONRESTAURANT · CALIFORNIA

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant salary in California

Averages can hide a lot. Medians hide less. That is why this page leads with the median for food servers, nonrestaurant in California: $39,010 a year. The mean is listed too, so you can see when a small group of high earners pulls the average upward.

MEDIAN ANNUAL SALARY

$39,010

$19 per hour at the median · That is $3,650 (10.3 percent) above the national median of $35,360 for this occupation.

$43,580Mean annual salary
$21Mean hourly wage
$32,430People employed in this job in California

Salary range

25th: $36,650Median: $39,01075th: $46,900
MeasureAnnual
25th percentile$36,650
Median (50th percentile)$39,010
75th percentile$46,900
Mean$43,580

The middle half of workers earned from $36,650 to $46,900 a year. Do not read the percentile range as good versus bad jobs. It mostly reflects experience, hours, employer type and local demand. A new starter near the 25th percentile and a veteran near the 75th can both be fairly paid for their stage.

What stays in your pocket on the median salary

ESTIMATED TAKE-HOME PAY

$33,016 a year
$2,751 a month
Federal tax $2,501 · FICA $2,984 · State tax $509
Read this before you use the take-home figure. It is a single-filer estimate using the 2026 standard deduction. It leaves out credits, other deductions, local taxes, and retirement or health deductions. Your actual paycheck can differ, and for states without a verified 2026 table in this build, state tax is still to be added once its table is verified.

Same job, other states

Other jobs in California

Try your own salary in the paycheck calculator