Best US Cities for Bartenders
Top US cities for Bartenders ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu, HI | $43,000 | 1.30× | +$11,000 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $42,100 | 1.45× | +$10,100 |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | $41,000 | 1.22× | +$9,000 |
| 4 | Anaheim, CA | $40,000 | 1.18× | +$8,000 |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $40,000 | 1.18× | +$8,000 |
| 6 | Oakland, CA | $39,800 | 1.35× | +$7,800 |
| 7 | New York City, NY | $39,200 | 1.32× | +$7,200 |
| 8 | San Diego, CA | $38,900 | 1.21× | +$6,900 |
| 9 | Irvine, CA | $38,700 | 1.30× | +$6,700 |
| 10 | Miami, FL | $38,500 | 1.12× | +$6,500 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu, HI | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | $41,000 | $20/hr |
| 4 | Anaheim, CA | $40,000 | $19/hr |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $40,000 | $19/hr |
| 6 | Oakland, CA | $39,800 | $19/hr |
| 7 | New York City, NY | $39,200 | $19/hr |
| 8 | San Diego, CA | $38,900 | $19/hr |
| 9 | Irvine, CA | $38,700 | $19/hr |
| 10 | Miami, FL | $38,500 | $19/hr |
| 11 | Long Beach, CA | $38,200 | $18/hr |
| 12 | Boston, MA | $36,900 | $18/hr |
| 13 | Las Vegas, NV | $36,500 | $18/hr |
| 14 | Yonkers, NY | $36,500 | $18/hr |
| 15 | Anchorage, AK | $36,500 | $18/hr |
| 16 | Seattle, WA | $36,000 | $17/hr |
| 17 | Henderson, NV | $36,000 | $17/hr |
| 18 | Reno, NV | $36,000 | $17/hr |
| 19 | Orlando, FL | $35,700 | $17/hr |
| 20 | Chula Vista, CA | $35,400 | $17/hr |
| 21 | Frisco, TX | $35,100 | $17/hr |
| 22 | Phoenix, AZ | $34,300 | $16/hr |
| 23 | Tampa, FL | $34,300 | $16/hr |
| 24 | Charleston, SC | $34,300 | $16/hr |
| 25 | Portland, OR | $34,200 | $16/hr |
| 26 | Newark, NJ | $34,200 | $16/hr |
| 27 | Sacramento, CA | $34,200 | $16/hr |
| 28 | Riverside, CA | $34,200 | $16/hr |
| 29 | New Orleans, LA | $34,100 | $16/hr |
| 30 | Virginia Beach, VA | $33,900 | $16/hr |
| 31 | Denver, CO | $33,800 | $16/hr |
| 32 | Nashville, TN | $33,700 | $16/hr |
| 33 | Colorado Springs, CO | $33,700 | $16/hr |
| 34 | St. Petersburg, FL | $33,700 | $16/hr |
| 35 | Chicago, IL | $33,100 | $16/hr |
| 36 | Austin, TX | $33,100 | $16/hr |
| 37 | Baltimore, MD | $33,100 | $16/hr |
| 38 | Stockton, CA | $33,100 | $16/hr |
| 39 | Aurora, CO | $33,100 | $16/hr |
| 40 | Hialeah, FL | $33,100 | $16/hr |
| 41 | Tucson, AZ | $33,000 | $16/hr |
| 42 | Glendale, AZ | $33,000 | $16/hr |
| 43 | Minneapolis, MN | $32,900 | $16/hr |
| 44 | Plano, TX | $32,900 | $16/hr |
| 45 | Chandler, AZ | $32,900 | $16/hr |
| 46 | Arlington, TX | $32,800 | $16/hr |
| 47 | Philadelphia, PA | $32,400 | $16/hr |
| 48 | Atlanta, GA | $32,400 | $16/hr |
| 49 | Gilbert, AZ | $32,400 | $16/hr |
| 50 | Salt Lake City, UT | $32,400 | $16/hr |
| 51 | San Antonio, TX | $32,200 | $15/hr |
| 52 | Wilmington, DE | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 53 | Raleigh, NC | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 54 | St. Paul, MN | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 55 | Chesapeake, VA | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 56 | North Las Vegas, NV | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 57 | Boise, ID | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 58 | Fresno, CA | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 59 | Knoxville, TN | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 60 | Worcester, MA | $32,000 | $15/hr |
| 61 | Dallas, TX | $31,800 | $15/hr |
| 62 | Bakersfield, CA | $31,800 | $15/hr |
| 63 | Madison, WI | $31,800 | $15/hr |
| 64 | Norfolk, VA | $31,600 | $15/hr |
| 65 | Jacksonville, FL | $31,300 | $15/hr |
| 66 | Charlotte, NC | $31,300 | $15/hr |
| 67 | Mesa, AZ | $31,300 | $15/hr |
| 68 | Houston, TX | $31,100 | $15/hr |
| 69 | Fort Worth, TX | $31,100 | $15/hr |
| 70 | Garland, TX | $31,100 | $15/hr |
| 71 | Spokane, WA | $31,100 | $15/hr |
| 72 | Pittsburgh, PA | $30,900 | $15/hr |
| 73 | Tallahassee, FL | $30,900 | $15/hr |
| 74 | Milwaukee, WI | $30,700 | $15/hr |
| 75 | Albuquerque, NM | $30,700 | $15/hr |
| 76 | Grand Rapids, MI | $30,400 | $15/hr |
| 77 | Columbus, OH | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 78 | Detroit, MI | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 79 | Cincinnati, OH | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 80 | Kansas City, MO | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 81 | Lexington, KY | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 82 | Corpus Christi, TX | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 83 | Buffalo, NY | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 84 | Greensboro, NC | $30,200 | $15/hr |
| 85 | El Paso, TX | $30,000 | $14/hr |
| 86 | Cleveland, OH | $30,000 | $14/hr |
| 87 | St. Louis, MO | $30,000 | $14/hr |
| 88 | Winston-Salem, NC | $30,000 | $14/hr |
| 89 | Indianapolis, IN | $29,800 | $14/hr |
| 90 | Louisville, KY | $29,800 | $14/hr |
| 91 | Omaha, NE | $29,800 | $14/hr |
| 92 | Memphis, TN | $29,500 | $14/hr |
| 93 | Oklahoma City, OK | $29,500 | $14/hr |
| 94 | Lincoln, NE | $29,500 | $14/hr |
| 95 | Birmingham, AL | $29,300 | $14/hr |
| 96 | Toledo, OH | $29,300 | $14/hr |
| 97 | Lubbock, TX | $29,300 | $14/hr |
| 98 | Wichita, KS | $28,900 | $14/hr |
| 99 | Fort Wayne, IN | $28,900 | $14/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $28,900 | $14/hr |
Does location actually decide Bartender pay?
Bartender work has to be done on site, so where you live and where you earn are the same question. The 49% spread between Honolulu ($43,000) and Mobile ($28,900) is a spread you can only capture by actually relocating.
One practical constraint: this is a licensed occupation (Alcohol server/TIPS certification required in most states). Because licenses do not automatically transfer across state lines, the metros on this list are not equally reachable — some will require you to re-qualify before you can work at all.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In Honolulu, $43,000 against $2,100/month rent leaves roughly $17,800 a year after housing. In Mobile, $28,900 against $850 leaves about $18,700. The bottom of the pay list beats the top once rent is subtracted — which is the whole reason to look past headline salary.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: Honolulu (U.S. Pacific Fleet/Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Queen's Health Systems); San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Los Angeles (Walt Disney Company, Netflix). A Bartender at a large employer in a metro where hospitality work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.