Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $24K, rent takes 95.2% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,583/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $500/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shops typically earn — is $18K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,076/month.

Local pay runs 24% below the national median — $24K here vs. $31K nationally.

Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area pays $24K median vs. the U.S. average of $31K — that’s -24%.

The median is $23,630 a year, that works out to about $11 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $17,930, and experienced hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shops can clear $35,630. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $1,662/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,583/month, which eats 95.2% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop salary is worth about $23,630 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.