Waiters and Waitresses Salary in Buffalo, NY

Waiters and Waitresses pay range in Buffalo

New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $32,240 a year or less, while the top 10% make $86,590 or more. The middle half of waiters and waitresses in Buffalo earn between $35,460 and $63,110.

*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.

Waiters and Waitresses salary after taxes in Buffalo

On the average salary of $54,310, a single filer in Buffalo takes home about $43,436 a year, or $3,620 a month and $1,671 every two weeks. Taxes take 20% of gross pay.

Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules). New York City (up to 3.876%) and Yonkers income taxes are not included.

Is Buffalo a good place for waiters and waitresses? Pay vs. cost of living

Prices in the Buffalo area are 4% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 95.8), so the average $54,310 buys what about $56,665 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 0.9 times the median wage of all jobs in Buffalo ($50,790). A typical home costs $288,316, or 5.3 years of this average salary before tax.

See what $54,310 is worth in another city

Waiters and Waitresses salary in other New York cities

Buffalo ranks 3rd of 13 New York metro areas for this job; New York pays the most ($55,000).

All Waiters and Waitresses salaries in New York

Highest-paying cities for waiters and waitresses

Kahului, HI pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($87,210).

Waiters and Waitresses salary by city

Related jobs in Buffalo

• Bartenders$53,970 a year
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant$35,690 a year
• Fast Food and Counter Workers$35,010 a year
• Chefs and Head Cooks$75,600 a year
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$46,510 a year
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$43,220 a year
• Cooks, All Other$41,160 a year
• Cooks, Restaurant$40,620 a year

Average salary in Buffalo and every job