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Role hub · Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

Food Server: 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.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of food servers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$35,360
Hourly
$17.00
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Food Servers serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars. The median pay is $35,360 a year ($17.00 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (48% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$35,360
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
293,900
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)
48% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Food Servers, Nonrestaurant (O*NET-SOC 35-3041.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Key facts

Food Servers at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Food Servers, Nonrestaurant” in the United States earned a median annual wage of $35,360 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 workers in the BLS occupation “Food Servers, Nonrestaurant” in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of workers in the BLS occupation “Food Servers, Nonrestaurant” in the United States to grow 4.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 48,800 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimates that less than 0.5% of food servers, nonrestaurant 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

Explore the role

Every page for Food Servers

How to becomeFood Server how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeFood Server resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

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Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

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The work

What food servers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Place food servings on plates or trays according to orders or instructions.
  2. Clean or sterilize dishes, kitchen utensils, equipment, or facilities.
  3. Monitor food distribution, ensuring that meals are delivered to the correct recipients and that guidelines, such as those for special diets, are followed.
  4. Examine trays to ensure that they contain required items.
  5. Load trays with accessories, such as eating utensils, napkins, or condiments.
  6. Take food orders and relay orders to kitchens or serving counters so they can be filled.
  7. Monitor food preparation or serving techniques to ensure that proper procedures are followed.
  8. Remove trays and stack dishes for return to kitchen after meals are finished.
Job requirements

What the job requires

Data BLS figures for food servers, nonrestaurant (SOC 35-3041), 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey.

Telework available
less than 0.5%
of workers had the ability to telework
Workday sitting
3.8%
mean share of the day required to sit
Most common strength level
Light
63.4% of workers
Can pause work
17.3%
of workers could take short, unscheduled breaks
Self-paced workload
less than 0.5%
of workers set their own workload
Employer-changed schedules
64.5%
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.

Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all food server jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Nursing and residential care facilities47.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $34,260
  2. Hospitals; state, local, and private16.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $40,990
  3. Food services and drinking places14.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $36,590
  4. Accommodation6.2% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $36,520
  5. Administrative and support services3.1% of all jobs in this occupation · -0.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $38,000
  6. Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries3.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +7.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $34,130

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.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Service OrientationcoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreSocial PerceptivenessCoordinationTime ManagementReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingJudgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Food Production.

Tools and technology

Software food servers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WindowsOperating system softwareHot technology
  • CBORD Nutrition Service SuiteData base user interface and query software
  • Capital Codeworks MenuMaxEnterprise resource planning ERP software
  • Picis CareSuiteData base user interface and query software

Also called: Food Service Worker, Kitchen Runner, Room Server, Room Service Server, Tray Server.

Method

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.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. 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.
  2. 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.