Average Wage of NYC Waiter is $23.34 According to a Pay Survey

The average wage of a server in a New York City restaurant is $23.34 per hour, according a tip wage survey conducted by New York City Hospitality Alliance. The pay survey, which was taken by employers at 486 New York City restaurants and bars employing approximately 15,000 tipped employees, revealed that besides the average $23.34 hourly wage for servers, bartenders earn approximately $27.48 per hour, and bussers and food runners earn about $17.11 per hour. Cocktail servers and bartenders at clubs and lounges make approximately $31.21 an hour and $32.35 an hour, respectively, and bussers and food runners at those nightlife establishments make an average of $18.84 per hour. The survey was released by the New York City Hospitality Alliance, an industry advocacy group, on October 17, 2014, in anticipation of a Wage Board hearing that was held by the New York State Department of Labor on October 20. At the hearing, advocates were pushing for the elimination of the tip credit, which would require employers to pay tipped employees an additional $4.00 after the minimum wage increases. Restaurant employers and industry representatives, however, argued that the elimination of the tip credit would have devastating economic effects, resulting in among other things, hiring freezes, layoffs, lower wages, and few restaurants openings. The New York City Hospitality Alliance proposed freezing the $5.00 per hour for tipped employees making a living wage of about one and one-half times the current minimum wage when their tips are added to the base wage. If the $5.00 per hour plus tips equals less than that, the employer pays a higher hourly tip wage.