Full-Service Restaurants — Average Employee Salary
The average employee in the full-service restaurants industry earns $29,723 per year ($14.29/hour), according to Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW data.
What Do Full-Service Restaurants Workers Earn?
At $29,723/year (equivalent to $14.29/hour for a full-time worker), full-service restaurants wages are below the national average of ~$65,000.
Lower wages in this industry are common in service-oriented or retail-adjacent sectors where entry barriers are lower. This can be an advantage for business owners managing payroll costs, but may contribute to higher turnover.
The typical full-service restaurants business employs 20 people. These are mid-sized operations where payroll is a significant but manageable expense.
Wages as a Percentage of Revenue
For the average full-service restaurants business generating $1.6M/year with 20 employees at $29,723 each, total payroll represents roughly 36.3% of revenue. Labor is a significant cost but leaves room for other expenses and profit.
What This Means for Business Owners
If you're starting or running a full-service restaurantsbusiness, here's what the wage data means for your bottom line:
- Per-employee cost: Budget approximately $38,640/year per employee (salary + ~30% for benefits, taxes, and insurance).
- Typical team size: 20 employees = ~$594,460/year in base payroll.
- Hourly equivalent: $14.29/hour base — factor this into pricing and project estimates.
- Revenue needed: With average revenue of $1.6M/business, you need strong utilization rates to maintain healthy margins after payroll.
See how these wages compare to total revenue and profit margins.
View full Full-Service Restaurants revenue benchmarks →Frequently Asked Questions
- How much do full-service restaurants employees make?
- The average full-service restaurants employee earns $29,723 per year, which is equivalent to $14.29/hour for a full-time worker (2,080 hours/year). This is below the national average of approximately $65,000.
- How many people work in the full-service restaurants industry?
- The full-service restaurants industry employs 5,331,268 workers across 262,155 establishments in the United States. The average business in this industry has approximately 20 employees.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW 2023).