Dishwasher Salary: Hourly Pay, the Federal Wage Range, and What Moves It

Dishwashers in the United States earn a median of $16.73 an hour, or about $34,810 a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data for 2025 published by O*NET OnLine. The lowest-paid tenth earn less than $12.59 an hour and the highest-paid tenth earn more than $20.61. Your state, and the type of kitchen you work in, account for most of that spread.

Dishwasher pay is one of those numbers everyone quotes and almost nobody sources. Job boards publish averages built from their own postings and from figures users type in, and they disagree with one another by dollars an hour. This article sticks to the federal survey data, shows the whole range instead of a single average, and explains where the job leads, because for most people the dish pit is a starting point and not a destination.

How much do dishwashers make an hour?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers and reports wages at five points across the workforce. For dishwashers, the 2025 figures look like this.

Two things stand out. The middle half of all dishwashers earn between $14.27 and $18.00, a band less than four dollars wide. And the gap between the bottom and the top is about eight dollars an hour, which is small compared with skilled kitchen roles. Dishwashing is a job where almost everyone is paid close to the local going rate for entry-level work.

How much is a dishwasher salary per year?

BLS reports $34,810 as the median annual figure. That assumes full-time, year-round work, which is roughly 2,080 hours.

Many dishwashers do not work that schedule. BLS notes that part-time work is common across entry-level food service jobs and that shifts often run early mornings, late evenings, weekends and holidays. A dishwasher working 25 hours a week at the median rate earns closer to $21,700 a year. That is our arithmetic, not a BLS figure, but it is a more realistic picture for a part-time position. When you compare offers, ask how many hours are guaranteed, not only what the hourly rate is.

How does dishwasher pay compare with other kitchen jobs?

The table below uses BLS median hourly wages. The dishwasher figure is the 2025 number above, and the others are May 2025 medians from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Dishwashers sit above several front-of-house entry roles on base wage and only slightly below prep workers. The comparison flatters dishwashing a little, because hosts, bussers and bartender helpers may also receive tips, and the BLS medians for those jobs include reported tips. Still, the takeaway holds: the wage gap between the dish station and the prep table is small, and the gap between prep and the line is where pay starts to climb. Our line cook salary guide covers that next step.

Why does dishwasher pay vary so much by state?

Because minimum wage law sets the floor, and for this job the floor is close to the wage. The federal minimum is $7.25 an hour, but many states and cities set their own, much higher, and a dishwasher's rate tracks the local minimum closely.

BLS state data show the pattern. In its May 2023 occupational profile for dishwashers, the highest-paying states were Washington, Hawaii, California, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts, all with mean wages around $18 to $19 an hour at that time, while Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania averaged between $13 and $14. Wages have risen since 2023, so treat those dollar figures as a ranking and not as current rates. The ordering is what matters: high-minimum-wage, high-cost states pay the most.

Cost of living cuts the other way. A higher rate in Seattle or Honolulu does not stretch as far as a lower rate in a small Texas city, so compare an offer with local rents, not with the national median.

Which employers pay dishwashers the most?

The same May 2023 BLS profile shows a clear split by type of employer. Restaurants employ roughly three out of four dishwashers and paid the lowest mean wage of the major employers. Hotels paid about three dollars an hour more on average. Caterers and contract food service companies fell in between.

Institutional kitchens such as hotels, hospitals, schools and senior living tend to offer steadier schedules and benefits as well. If the hourly rate at a restaurant and a hotel is the same, the hotel job is often worth more once you count hours and benefits.

Do dishwashers get tips?

Sometimes, and federal law controls when. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer that takes a tip credit, meaning it pays tipped staff a lower cash wage, may only pool tips among employees who customarily receive them, such as servers and bartenders. Dishwashers and cooks cannot be included. An employer that pays every worker at least the full minimum wage and takes no tip credit may run a mandatory pool that includes back-of-house staff.

State law can add its own rules. If a posting mentions tip sharing, ask how the pool works and get the policy in writing. Until then, do not count it as part of your wage.

Does a food handler card raise dishwasher pay?

No source ties a dollar amount to a food handler card, and you should be skeptical of any site that does. What the card changes is how easy you are to hire. Many states and counties require food employees to hold one within a set number of days of starting, and that includes dishwashers, because the dish station is where every plate, pan and utensil is made safe for the next guest.

That is the part of the job people underrate. A dishwasher who understands the wash, rinse and sanitize sequence, who checks sanitizer strength with test strips, and who knows the final rinse temperature the machine must reach is doing food safety work. Our concept pages on dishwashing and sanitizer types and concentrations explain the rules behind it, and they follow the FDA Food Code, the model most states adopt.

If you do not hold a card, read how to get a food handlers card. The ServSafe Food Handler exam passes at 75 percent, meaning 30 of 40 questions. For current course options and fees, go to servsafe.com, because providers set and change their own pricing.

How do you move from dishwasher to higher pay?

BLS describes the usual path plainly: kitchen staff advance to food preparation worker or cook, and some move on to supervisory or food service manager roles. In practice it works like this.

• Ask for prep tasks. Peeling, portioning and labeling during slow periods is how most dishwashers become prep cooks. Our guide to what a prep cook does shows what that role expects.
• Be the reliable one. Kitchens promote the person who shows up, because turnover in this job is high and dependable workers are scarce.
• Learn the food safety side. Knowing why food is cooled, labeled and stored the way it is makes you useful on the line sooner.
• Look past restaurants. Hotels and institutional kitchens often pay more for the same work.
• Aim at a manager credential later. Supervisors are commonly expected to hold a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate. The ServSafe Manager course prepares you for that exam, which passes at 70 percent, meaning at least 56 of 80 scored questions.

What this means for you

If you are weighing a dishwasher job, the fair anchor is about $16.73 an hour nationally, adjusted hard for your state's minimum wage. Compare the offer with local postings, and ask about guaranteed hours, meals and whether the kitchen cross-trains.

If you are already washing dishes, a raise in the same role will usually be small, because the pay band is narrow. The real increases come from changing employer type or moving to prep and then the line.

If you are hiring, know that your dishwasher has likely seen every rate in town. The operators who keep them pay the local going rate, offer steady hours, and treat the station as the food safety job it is. Our dishwasher job description covers what to put in the posting.

Frequently asked questions

How much do dishwashers make an hour?

Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2025, published by O*NET OnLine, put the median at $16.73 an hour. The lowest-paid tenth earn less than $12.59 and the highest-paid tenth earn more than $20.61. Your rate depends mostly on your state's minimum wage and the type of kitchen.

How much does a dishwasher make a year?

The federal median is about $34,810 a year for full-time, year-round work. Many dishwashers work part time, so actual annual earnings are often lower. Multiply the hourly rate by the hours you are realistically scheduled to get a figure that matches your own situation.

What state pays dishwashers the most?

In the BLS May 2023 occupational profile, Washington, Hawaii, California, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts had the highest mean dishwasher wages. All have minimum wages or living costs well above the national level, so higher pay there does not automatically mean more money left after rent.

Do dishwashers get paid more than servers?

On base wage, often yes, because servers in many states are paid a lower tipped cash wage. Once tips are counted, servers frequently take home more. Dishwashers get a steadier, more predictable paycheck, while a server's income swings with the shift, the season and the section.

Do dishwashers need a food handler card?

In many states and counties, yes. Dishwashers handle the clean utensils and equipment that touch food, so they are usually treated as food employees. Rules differ by jurisdiction, so check with your local health department or ask the employer which card it expects and when.

Is dishwashing a good first kitchen job?

It is a common and practical start. No formal education is typically required, training happens on the job, and BLS notes that kitchen staff can advance to food preparation worker or cook. The pay ceiling is low, so its real value is as a way into better-paid kitchen roles.

Ready to build the food safety side of your next step? Start with the free Food Handler track and check yourself with the Food Handler practice test.

Sources

• O*NET OnLine: Dishwashers, national wages, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage percentiles for dishwashers
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: Dishwashers, employer-type and state wage comparisons
• BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers, May 2025 medians, schedules and advancement
• BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Food Preparation Workers and Cooks
• U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet 15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSA, tip pooling rules and the federal minimum wage
• FDA Food Code, the model code behind warewashing and sanitizing rules
• FDA Food Code 2022 (full text, PDF)
• ServSafe Food Handler program information