SalaryExplorer

SOC 35-3031 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Waiters and Waitresses — Springfield

Springfield, OH · 10 metro areas compared

$36,060 /year
$17.34per hour
560jobs in area
+2.4%vs US median

The median wage for Waiters and Waitresses in Springfield, OH is $36,060 per year, close to the national median of $35,230 for the same occupation.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $35,23010TH$23,21025TH$28,680MEDIAN$36,06075TH$47,80090TH$58,980

How pay has moved

$40,175$15,4852019202020212022202320242025$36,060
$20,310 in 2019 to $36,060 in 2025, +77.5% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to decline

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
-0.7%
Openings per year
456,700
Typical entry-level education
No formal educational credential
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Springfield, OH.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Waiters and Waitresses in Springfield, OH is $36,060 per year, close to the national median of $35,230 for the same occupation. Pay ranges from under $23,210 at the tenth percentile to more than $58,980 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $28,680 to $47,800.

The area has 560 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 12.2 of every thousand jobs. Columbus leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $37,490. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 163rd of 205 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Springfield, OH · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$23,210−34.1%
25th$28,680−18.6%
Median (50th)$36,060+2.4%
75th$47,800+35.7%
90th$58,980+67.4%
Mean$41,040+16.5%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Ohio

Median annual wage for Waiters and Waitresses, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Columbus$37,49015,900
2Lima$36,720680
3Dayton$36,6004,700
4Cincinnati$36,53017,790
5Cleveland$36,26014,120
6Canton$36,2102,690
7Akron$36,1504,680
8Toledo$36,1404,600
9Mansfield$35,170850
10Sandusky$34,6101,400

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Springfield run 9.5% below the national average, so the median of $36,060 goes as far as $39,845 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 13.1% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$36,060as reported by BLS

Local price level

90.5US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$39,845US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $36,060 a year, 2.4% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $23,210 to $58,980 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 560 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Columbus, at $37,490.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Waiters and Waitresses in Springfield, OH?

The median annual wage is $36,060, or $17.34 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $35,230, so pay in Springfield, OH is 2.4% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Springfield, OH earns more than $58,980 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $23,210 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Columbus, at $37,490 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 560 jobs in this occupation in Springfield, OH. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.