Food Preparation
Dining Room Attendants
SOC 35-9011
Clear, reset, and support servers to keep tables turning.
The job
Median pay
$34k
$28k to $37k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+5.3% projected
Openings a year
95k
BLS projection
Typical education
No formal credential
Our model
AI displacement risk
Low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
8/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
6th pct
More exposed than 6% of occupations · modeled estimate · 16th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
48/100
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 75,460 | 4.1 | 1.2× | $36k |
| Texas | 60,270 | 4.3 | 1.2× | $22k |
| Florida | 50,400 | 5.1 | 1.4× | $33k |
| New York | 41,340 | 4.3 | 1.2× | $37k |
| Illinois | 21,290 | 3.5 | 1.0× | $31k |
| Pennsylvania | 20,800 | 3.4 | 1.0× | $29k |
| New Jersey | 16,490 | 3.8 | 1.1× | $34k |
| Georgia | 14,540 | 3.0 | 0.8× | $29k |
| Ohio | 13,670 | 2.5 | 0.7× | $29k |
| Arizona | 13,300 | 4.1 | 1.2× | $37k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 13,240 | 4.8 | 1.4× | $37k |
| Michigan | 13,050 | 3.0 | 0.8× | $30k |
| Nevada | 12,750 | 8.2 | 2.4× | $27k |
| Virginia | 11,910 | 2.9 | 0.8× | $32k |
| Missouri | 11,590 | 3.9 | 1.1× | $32k |
| Massachusetts | 11,510 | 3.2 | 0.9× | $35k |
| Tennessee | 11,330 | 3.5 | 1.0× | $29k |
| North Carolina | 11,230 | 2.3 | 0.7× | $28k |
| Indiana | 10,220 | 3.2 | 0.9× | $28k |
| Colorado | 8,460 | 2.9 | 0.8× | $37k |
| Minnesota | 7,220 | 2.4 | 0.7× | $29k |
| Wisconsin | 7,220 | 2.5 | 0.7× | $27k |
| South Carolina | 6,220 | 2.7 | 0.8× | $27k |
| Washington | 6,160 | 1.7 | 0.5× | $41k |
| Connecticut | 5,810 | 3.4 | 1.0× | $35k |
| Oklahoma | 5,400 | 3.2 | 0.9× | $27k |
| Louisiana | 4,810 | 2.5 | 0.7× | $27k |
| Utah | 4,490 | 2.6 | 0.7× | $27k |
| Hawaii | 4,380 | 7.0 | 2.0× | $51k |
| Washington DC | 4,130 | 5.9 | 1.7× | $39k |
| Oregon | 3,910 | 2.0 | 0.6× | $37k |
| Alabama | 3,420 | 1.6 | 0.5× | $22k |
| Kentucky | 3,350 | 1.7 | 0.5× | $26k |
| Iowa | 3,250 | 2.1 | 0.6× | $28k |
| Kansas | 2,960 | 2.1 | 0.6× | $26k |
| New Mexico | 2,960 | 3.4 | 1.0× | $29k |
| Rhode Island | 2,880 | 5.7 | 1.6× | $31k |
| Mississippi | 2,620 | 2.3 | 0.7× | $23k |
| South Dakota | 2,550 | 5.6 | 1.6× | $30k |
| Arkansas | 2,160 | 1.7 | 0.5× | $28k |
| Nebraska | 2,160 | 2.1 | 0.6× | $31k |
| Delaware | 1,540 | 3.2 | 0.9× | $32k |
| Maine | 1,540 | 2.4 | 0.7× | $39k |
| Idaho | 1,520 | 1.8 | 0.5× | $28k |
| New Hampshire | 1,510 | 2.2 | 0.6× | $26k |
| West Virginia | 1,170 | 1.7 | 0.5× | $27k |
| Montana | 1,150 | 2.2 | 0.6× | $28k |
| Vermont | 1,043 | 3.4 | 1.0× | $34k~ |
| North Dakota | 890 | 2.1 | 0.6× | $31k |
| Alaska | 860 | 2.6 | 0.8× | $27k |
| Wyoming | 650 | 2.3 | 0.7× | $25k |
Top metro areas
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ37,600 jobs · $37k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA24,860 jobs · $36k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX18,600 jobs · $21k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN18,100 jobs · $31k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX16,740 jobs · $22k median
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL16,490 jobs · $35k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV13,800 jobs · $37k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD10,990 jobs · $32k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Dining Room Attendants interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.