The average national base pay is estimated differently by each website, however as of the beginning of March 2022, sites report: So, it is feasible to earn less than the government minimum wage.įortunately, bartenders frequently earn more than the tipped minimum wage because they aren't the lowest-paid tipped workers.

The business is required to make up any shortcomings in tips and pay out of pocket to bring employees up to the usual minimum wage ($7.25/hour) in places that permit a tip credit, although many don't. Many businesses offer more and have greater standards. The amount of pay over the local minimum wage you can expect will depend on the sort of business and the level of skill necessary.įederal law sets the tipped minimum wage at $2.13 per hour. Where you live affects the minimum wage rules and the number of people a business owner must hire for. But, even a bartender's base pay, which is supposed to be predictable, will fluctuate. There are so many contributing factors, like the environment, the customer, your level of expertise, how busy your shifts are, and if tips are pooled. How Much Do Bartenders Make A Year in Base Pay?Īny bartender will tell you tips are unpredictable. The bottom 10% of bartenders earned less than $9.18 per hour ($19,100 per year), while the top 10% earned more than $27.51/hour ($57,220 per year). According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average (median) wage for a bartender in the United States as of May 2022 was $14.12 per hour. Income for a tipped job, such as bartending, is separated into two categories: base pay (an hourly rate) and tipped pay. Before tips, a bartender is looking at an average of $34,490 a year. How Much Do Bartenders Make?īartenders are known to make good money, but when broken down, how much do bartenders really make in a year? With tips, on average, bartenders earn $60,787.20 per year. Continue reading if you’re curious about your earning potential to see the average income of a bartender with and without tips. There are no assurances, but we can estimate based on data on bartender salaries across the US. The amount you make can vary depending on a lot of different factors like venue, clientele, personality, skills, shifts, and pooled tips. Sometimes you have busy nights, while others are so slow you might walk away with nothing in your pocket. When you make your living off of tips, it might be difficult to accurately predict your salary.

Average bartender salary in california