Waiters and Waitresses pay in Knoxville
$28,970avg. a year
$13.93 an hour · 7,260 employed
Waiters and Waitresses in the Knoxville, TN metro area earn an average of $28,970 a year. That is about the same as the Tennessee average of $29,070. The U.S. average is $40,060.
$28,100Median pay
$13.93Average hourly
-0%vs. Tennessee average
7,260Jobs in this metro
Other Tennessee metro areas
Average pay for waiters and waitresses in other Tennessee metro areas. Swipe to see all 9.
119,490 jobs
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
$31,580
$15.18 an hour
21,800 jobs
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
$31,460
$15.13 an hour
3630 jobs
Morristown, TN
$28,850
$13.87 an hour
48,060 jobs
Memphis, TN-MS-AR
$28,120
$13.52 an hour
51,570 jobs
Clarksville, TN-KY
$27,420
$13.18 an hour
64,790 jobs
Chattanooga, TN-GA
$27,210
$13.08 an hour
71,460 jobs
Johnson City, TN
$26,260
$12.62 an hour
8720 jobs
Cleveland, TN
$25,860
$12.43 an hour
9930 jobs
Jackson, TN
$25,680
$12.34 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 Knoxville compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroTennesseeU.S.
Tennessee metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Knoxville
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $27,950 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $45,240 |
| Bartenders | $32,530 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | $30,730 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $35,930 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $31,220 |
Questions and answers
How much do waiters and waitresses make in Knoxville?
The average is $28,970 a year, and the median is $28,100. About 7,260 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the Tennessee average?
That is about the same as the Tennessee average of $29,070.
Is this job common in Knoxville?
It makes up 17.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 1.17 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: Knoxville, TN metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 28940). 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.