Dishwasher: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of dishwashers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $26,200
- Hourly
- $12.59
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of dishwashers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $29,690
- Hourly
- $14.27
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of dishwashers earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $34,810
- Hourly
- $16.73
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of dishwashers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $37,440
- Hourly
- $18.00
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of dishwashers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $42,860
- Hourly
- $20.61
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Dishwashers clean dishes, kitchen, food preparation equipment, or utensils. The median pay is $34,810 a year ($16.73 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (56% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $34,810
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 477,450
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 1-2 of 5
- very little to some preparation
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 56% of workers
Dishwashers at a glance
Dishwashers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $34,810 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry-level education for dishwashers in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of dishwashers in the United States to decline 1.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 68,900 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimates that less than 0.5% of dishwashers in the United States had the ability to telework in 2025, a preliminary estimate of whether the job allows it, not a count of remote jobs.
Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 preliminary
Every page for Dishwashers
Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.
Open →ResumeDishwasher resumeKeywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.
Open →Interview questionsDishwasher interview questionsQuestions with what they test, plus practice mode.
Open →Free toolCheck your resumeParsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.
Open →What dishwashers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Wash dishes, glassware, flatware, pots, or pans, using dishwashers or by hand.
- Maintain kitchen work areas, equipment, or utensils in clean and orderly condition.
- Place clean dishes, utensils, or cooking equipment in storage areas.
- Stock supplies, such as food or utensils, in serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, or salad bars.
- Clean or prepare various foods for cooking or serving.
- Sort and remove trash, placing it in designated pickup areas.
- Transfer supplies or equipment between storage and work areas, by hand or using hand trucks.
- Receive and store supplies.
What the job requires
Data BLS figures for dishwashers (SOC 35-9021), 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey.
- Telework available
- less than 0.5%
- of workers had the ability to telework
- Workday sitting
- 1.8%
- mean share of the day required to sit
- Most common strength level
- Medium
- 56.0% of workers
- Can pause work
- 36.7%
- of workers could take short, unscheduled breaks
- Self-paced workload
- less than 0.5%
- of workers set their own workload
- Employer-changed schedules
- 78.9%
- of workers had schedules changed by the employer week to week
On TryHired lists: Jobs that don't require experience.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey. Estimates are preliminary; ranges are shown as published.
Industries that employ it
Data Share of all dishwasher jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).
- Food services and drinking places80.2% of all jobs in this occupation · -2.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $33,710
- Accommodation5.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $40,740
- Nursing and residential care facilities2.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $34,580
- Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries2.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +7.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $34,740
- Administrative and support services1.9% of all jobs in this occupation · -1.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $35,060
- Food and beverage retailers1.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $36,470
Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: English Language.
Software dishwashers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Microsoft WindowsOperating system softwareHot technology
Also called: Busser, Dish Machine Operator (DMO), Dish Room Worker, Dish Runner, Dish Technician (Dish Tech).
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How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.