How much do servers make in tips per hour?

What the published numbers say

United States. The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2024 release) reports median hourly pay for waiters and waitresses in the mid-teens, and that figure already includes the tips employers report. The spread matters more than the median: the top tenth earn well above it, and the gap is mostly venue, shift and section rather than skill.

United Kingdom. Base pay is at or a little above the National Living Wage for over-21s (lower minimum bands apply under 21), and tips come on top, increasingly through a tronc since the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 required employers to pass on 100%. Tips per hour in pubs tend to be modest; full-service restaurants with a service charge pay noticeably more.

Australia. Hospitality award rates are high by international standards, penalty rates lift weekends and evenings further, and tipping is lighter and less expected, so tips are a smaller share of the hour than in the US.

None of these figures tells you what Thursday at your restaurant pays. For that you need your own record.

What moves tips per hour

• Check size and alcohol. Tip percentages hold roughly steady; tips per hour follow the size of the bill. A cocktail-led dinner service beats a lunch of sandwiches at the same percentage.
• Section and covers. A six-table patio on a warm Friday can outpay the dining room. Bar seats turn faster than four-tops.
• Tip-out. A 2% of sales tip-out on $1,200 is $24 off the top before you divide by hours. Gross tips per hour overstate the real figure by whatever you pay out.
• Hours. Sidework and closing add unpaid or wage-only time. An hour of rolling silverware is still an hour in the denominator.
• Day and shift. Weekend dinners win on volume; a long double can win on total and lose on rate. Our guide to which shifts make the most money goes through it.

How to measure your own in three weeks

Log the four numbers after every shift: cash tips, card tips, tip-out and the hours you actually worked. Divide net tips by hours. After three weeks, look at the pattern rather than the nights.

In Tillside every row shows the shift's hours, its rate and its tips, so the division is done before you look. With Pro, the Insights tab averages the rate per weekday: on the six shifts in the screenshot, the two Saturdays average £49.28 an hour including wage, against £28.86 and £31.34 for the two Thursdays. Our guide to which shifts make the most money covers reading that chart.

A worked example

Saturday 5 September at a UK pub: £62 cash, £141.20 card, £6.10 tipped out, six hours. Net tips £197.10, which is £32.85 an hour in tips alone. Add the £12.21 wage and the hour was worth £45.06. Thursday 3 September at the same place: £40 cash, £78.30 card, £3.55 out, six hours. Net tips £114.75, or £19.13 an hour, £31.34 with wage.

Both are respectable shifts. Only the division shows that this Saturday paid 44% more per hour than this Thursday, and that a second Thursday would need to be a very good one to change the ranking.