Food Servers, Nonrestaurant pay in Illinois
$35,730avg. a year
$17.18 an hour · 17,560 employed
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Illinois earn an average of $35,730 a year. That is about the same as the U.S. average of $36,140. The best-paying metro area is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN at $36,550.
$35,080Median pay
$17.18Average hourly
+35%Avg. pay since 2020
#22Of 50 states + D.C.
Top-paying Illinois metro areas
Average pay for food servers, nonrestaurant by metro area. Swipe to see all 11.
112,200 jobs
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$36,550
$17.57 an hour
2330 jobs
Champaign-Urbana, IL
$35,670
$17.15 an hour
33,250 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$35,210
$16.93 an hour
4240 jobs
Springfield, IL
$34,920
$16.79 an hour
5490 jobs
Peoria, IL
$34,810
$16.74 an hour
6470 jobs
Rockford, IL
$34,180
$16.43 an hour
7230 jobs
Bloomington, IL
$34,020
$16.36 an hour
8100 jobs
Decatur, IL
$33,910
$16.30 an hour
9240 jobs
Kankakee, IL
$33,580
$16.15 an hour
10630 jobs
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
$32,760
$15.75 an hour
11180 jobs
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
$31,100
$14.95 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant pay in Illinois, charted
Pay over time
Illinois, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where Illinois food servers, nonrestaurant work
Employment by metro area, May 2025
Related jobs in Illinois
- Fast Food and Counter Workers$34,280
- Waiters and Waitresses$35,610
- Bartenders$35,550
- Cooks, Restaurant$39,520
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$45,710
- Food Preparation Workers$36,260
Average pay, Illinois, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Questions and answers
How much do food servers, nonrestaurant make in Illinois?
The average is $35,730 a year, and the median is $35,080. That is about the same as the U.S. average of $36,140.
What is the hourly wage in Illinois?
$17.18 an hour on average; the median is $16.87.
Where in Illinois do they earn the most?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN ($36,550), followed by Champaign-Urbana, IL ($35,670). The lowest average among 11 metro areas with data is Cape Girardeau, MO-IL ($31,100).
How does Illinois rank?
Illinois ranks #22 of 51 states (including D.C.) with published data for this job, by average pay.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 35-3041. State rank compares average pay across states with published data. Metro figures cover metropolitan statistical areas; a metro area can cross state lines. See also the national food servers, nonrestaurant page. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.