Waiters and Waitresses Salary in Madison, WI

Waiters and Waitresses pay range in Madison

New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $18,120 a year or less, while the top 10% make $77,900 or more. The middle half of waiters and waitresses in Madison earn between $21,980 and $48,120.

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

Waiters and Waitresses salary after taxes in Madison

On the average salary of $38,450, a single filer in Madison takes home about $32,067 a year, or $2,672 a month and $1,233 every two weeks. Taxes take 17% of gross pay.

Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2026 rules).

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

Prices in the Madison area are 3% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 97.3), so the average $38,450 buys what about $39,522 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 0.5 times the median wage of all jobs in Madison ($58,080). A typical home costs $452,769, or 11.8 years of this average salary before tax.

See what $38,450 is worth in another city

Waiters and Waitresses salary in other Wisconsin cities

Madison ranks 1st of 13 Wisconsin metro areas for this job, the best-paid in the state.

All Waiters and Waitresses salaries in Wisconsin

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 Madison

• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant$37,220 a year
• Fast Food and Counter Workers$30,970 a year
• Bartenders$27,510 a year
• Chefs and Head Cooks$68,460 a year
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$47,390 a year
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$42,010 a year
• Cooks, Restaurant$39,150 a year
• Food Preparation Workers$36,760 a year

Average salary in Madison and every job