Colorado Restaurant Pay Ranks 30th in the U.S.

The NoCo Virus Tracker articles are made possible by our partners, the Keep NoCo Open campaign that reminds citizens to wear a mask, wash your hands, physically distance and support local as Northern Colorado recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colorado waitstaff, in 2020, worked harder than they ever have before to help keep their establishments open, and many even lost their positions due to COVID-19 budget cuts.

Even without the pandemic, though, our restaurant staff could stand to be compensated a little better. According to a recent study from Business.org, "restaurant workers earn less than the average salary for all other occupations"...and when it comes to Colorado, we rank in the bottom half of states for average waiter/waitress pay.

Colorado's average restaurant staff salary is $26,455, which is 54% less than the average salary for all other occupations in Colorado. The state that pays the best? That would be Hawaii, who came in at number one on this list.

This just goes to show that we have to continue to support our local restaurants and, if you can, overtip: our waitstaff definitely deserves it.