Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers: Career Profile
Facilitate food service. Clean tables; remove dirty dishes; replace soiled table linens; set tables; replenish supply of clean linens, silverware, glassware, and dishes; supply service bar with food; and serve items such as water, condiments, and coffee to patrons.
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What Tasks Do Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers Do?
The day-to-day responsibilities of dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers cover:
- Run cash registers.
- Serve ice water, coffee, rolls, or butter to patrons.
- Scrape and stack dirty dishes and carry dishes and other tableware to kitchens for cleaning.
- Wipe tables or seats with dampened cloths or replace dirty tablecloths.
- Set tables with clean linens, condiments, or other supplies.
- Greet and seat customers.
- Clean up spilled food or drink or broken dishes and remove empty bottles and trash.
- Maintain adequate supplies of items, such as clean linens, silverware, glassware, dishes, or trays.
What Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers Need to Know
Effective dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Other Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Banquet Houseperson
- Banquet Set Up Person
- Bar Attendant
- Bar Back
- Barback
- Barmaid
- Bartender Helper
- Beverage Server
How Many Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers Are There?
The U.S. employs around 79,189 dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +0.3% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $36,562 |
| Hourly median | $17.58 |
| 10th percentile | $26,489 |
| 25th percentile | $31,526 |
| 75th percentile | $41,599 |
| 90th percentile | $46,636 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Hawaii | $47,190 |
| Washington | $38,800 |
| District of Columbia | $38,160 |
| Maine | $37,470 |
| Vermont | $36,920 |
| New York | $36,780 |
| Arizona | $35,870 |
| California | $35,790 |
| Maryland | $35,590 |
| Colorado | $35,550 |
| Massachusetts | $34,550 |
| Connecticut | $33,900 |
| Oregon | $33,420 |
| Virgin Islands | $32,780 |
| New Jersey | $32,670 |
| North Dakota | $32,510 |
| Virginia | $31,300 |
| Florida | $30,490 |
| Rhode Island | $30,020 |
| Michigan | $29,950 |
| Nebraska | $29,690 |
| Illinois | $29,490 |
| Tennessee | $29,310 |
| Delaware | $29,280 |
| Minnesota | $28,980 |
| New Mexico | $28,970 |
| Georgia | $28,770 |
| Pennsylvania | $28,650 |
| South Dakota | $28,640 |
| Alaska | $28,600 |
| Montana | $28,590 |
| Indiana | $28,550 |
| Missouri | $28,470 |
| Idaho | $28,420 |
| Kansas | $28,320 |
| Ohio | $28,170 |
| Utah | $27,760 |
| Kentucky | $27,450 |
| Louisiana | $27,260 |
| Arkansas | $27,100 |
| Oklahoma | $26,890 |
| Texas | $26,800 |
| Iowa | $26,710 |
| West Virginia | $26,700 |
| North Carolina | $26,300 |
| Nevada | $26,260 |
| Wisconsin | $26,260 |
| South Carolina | $24,840 |
| New Hampshire | $24,040 |
| Alabama | $22,290 |
| Wyoming | $22,080 |
| Mississippi | $21,860 |
| Guam | $21,040 |
| Puerto Rico | $20,670 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Earnings for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers shift depending on where you work. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $35,176 | 20.5% | 1.40 |
| Middle Atlantic | $34,316 | 18.4% | 1.24 |
| New England | $33,486 | 4.6% | 1.02 |
| Rocky Mountains | $32,037 | 2.9% | 0.77 |
| Great Lakes | $28,861 | 12.3% | 0.89 |
| Southeast | $28,761 | 21.9% | 1.01 |
| Plains States | $28,605 | 5.0% | 0.79 |
| Southwest | $28,306 | 14.2% | 1.14 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | HI | $52,980 | 770 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | HI | $44,990 | 2,630 |
| Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $42,600 | 260 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $42,170 | 4,430 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $41,600 | 730 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $39,610 | 4,100 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $38,750 | 890 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | WA | $38,490 | 70 |
Top Industries Employing Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
The largest employers of dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and Food Services | 434,050 | $32,280 |
| Educational Services | 31,240 | $34,420 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 19,490 | $33,150 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 17,310 | $33,690 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 7,080 | $31,580 |
| Manufacturing | 2,910 | $34,470 |
| Retail Trade | 2,680 | $32,900 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 2,210 | $33,300 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers Use
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
Work Environment
The work environment for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Spend Time Walking or Running
- Spend Time Standing
- Contact With Others
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
Education and Training
Most dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Food Service Managers (Supplemental)
- Chefs and Head Cooks (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Fast Food (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Private Household (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Restaurant (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Short Order (Primary-Long)
Sources
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 35-9011.00 (Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers).
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