Waiters and Waitresses pay in Wilmington
$36,000avg. a year
$17.31 an hour · 4,920 employed
Waiters and Waitresses in the Wilmington, NC metro area earn an average of $36,000 a year. That is $1,850 (5%) less than the North Carolina average of $37,850. The U.S. average is $40,060.
$30,610Median pay
$17.31Average hourly
-5%vs. North Carolina average
4,920Jobs in this metro
Other North Carolina metro areas
Average pay for waiters and waitresses in other North Carolina metro areas. Swipe to see all 15.
113,100 jobs
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
$44,510
$21.40 an hour
219,990 jobs
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
$40,850
$19.64 an hour
33,250 jobs
Asheville, NC
$39,780
$19.12 an hour
410,290 jobs
Raleigh-Cary, NC
$39,430
$18.96 an hour
51,040 jobs
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC
$38,240
$18.39 an hour
63,560 jobs
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
$38,040
$18.29 an hour
75,210 jobs
Greensboro-High Point, NC
$36,630
$17.61 an hour
81,100 jobs
Burlington, NC
$35,420
$17.03 an hour
93,940 jobs
Winston-Salem, NC
$34,790
$16.73 an hour
101,980 jobs
Fayetteville, NC
$34,750
$16.71 an hour
112,000 jobs
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
$34,460
$16.57 an hour
121,140 jobs
Jacksonville, NC
$34,230
$16.46 an hour
131,310 jobs
Greenville, NC
$34,200
$16.44 an hour
14640 jobs
Goldsboro, NC
$33,910
$16.31 an hour
15580 jobs
Rocky Mount, NC
$32,080
$15.43 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.
How Wilmington compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroNorth CarolinaU.S.
North Carolina metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Wilmington
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $28,200 |
| Bartenders | $43,400 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | $33,350 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $34,140 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $45,910 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $33,110 |
Questions and answers
How much do waiters and waitresses make in Wilmington?
The average is $36,000 a year, and the median is $30,610. About 4,920 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the North Carolina average?
That is $1,850 (5%) less than the North Carolina average of $37,850.
Is this job common in Wilmington?
It makes up 25.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 1.76 times the national share.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, occupation code 35-3031. Metro area: Wilmington, NC metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 48900). Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.