Waiter Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 177,000 jobs.
Median salary
£11,412
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 116% below the £24,647 median for people working full-time.
▲ 13.5% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£24,647
Part-time only
£8,363
Mean
£12,791
Jobs measured
177,000
What a typical waiter takes home
On the full-time median of £24,647, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,772
Take-home a year
£21,265
Income Tax
£2,415
National Insurance
£966
What most waiters actually earn
Half of waiters earn between £5,080 and £18,258. Earning above £18,258 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of waiters earn less than this.
Waiter salary by region
6 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £17,812 | £19,423 |
| East | £11,182 | £12,607 |
| South West | £11,048 | £11,408 |
| North West | £10,330 | £12,289 |
| South East | £9,429 | £11,628 |
| West Midlands | £9,086 | £11,006 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Waiters and waitresses
- SOC 2020 code
- 9264
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Waiter salary FAQs
What is the average Waiter salary in the UK?
The median is £11,412 a year and the mean is £12,791, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £24,647 and part-time employees £8,363.
How much does a waiter earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £12.81 excluding overtime, or £13.37 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Waiter salary?
Half of waiters earn between £5,080 and £18,258. Anything above £18,258 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a waiter?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of waiters earn under £2,262 and the lowest quarter under £5,080 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid waiters earn?
The top 10% of waiters earn more than £26,159 a year, and the top quarter more than £18,258. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Has waiter pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +13.5% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many waiters are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 177,000 employee jobs in “Waiters and waitresses” (SOC 9264) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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