Dishwashers Salary: $40,345 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 471,670 dishwashers nationally earn a mean of $40,345. Employment in the series shown rose about 6% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 0.7% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Dishwashers: what the data shows
Common questions about dishwashers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a dishwashers?
Dishwashers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 35-9021.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 471,670 workers.
What does a dishwashers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Handling and Moving Objects, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a dishwashers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $33,670 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $40,345 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35,409 |
| 25th percentile | $36,345 |
| Median (50th) | $38,504 |
| 75th percentile | $42,783 |
| 90th percentile | $48,203 |
What education do you need?
For Dishwashers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Time Management, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Speaking, Operations Monitoring, Coordination, and knowledge areas including Administration and Management, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Customer and Personal Service. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is dishwashers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.7% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 3.3%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 6.8%.
Current U.S. headcount: 471,670.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do dishwasherss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 471,670 | 17.6% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 467,600 | 17.4% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 407,320 | 15.2% |
| Food Services and Drinking Places | 379,220 | 14.1% |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 342,240 | 12.8% |
| Full-Service Restaurants | 297,980 | 11.1% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Dishwashers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Dishwashers workforce.
Employment Over Time
471,670 Workforce in 2023
The Dishwashers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Dishwashers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$40,345 Average Wage
In 2023, Dishwashers earned an average of $40,345.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Dishwashers.
Salary distribution for Dishwashers.
Employment Growth Projections
0.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
300,652 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 3.3%
310,688 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 6.8%
This occupation is projected to grow at 0.7% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Dishwashers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Dishwashers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Dishwashers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Dishwashers.
Wage Trends by Industry
3.4% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Dishwashers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Dishwashers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 73,050 employees, $39,230 avg wage
- FL: 38,070 employees, $30,920 avg wage
- TX: 36,560 employees, $29,240 avg wage
- NY: 31,750 employees, $36,620 avg wage
- PA: 19,770 employees, $29,140 avg wage
- OH: 14,920 employees, $29,540 avg wage
- IL: 13,670 employees, $35,090 avg wage
- MA: 12,800 employees, $39,020 avg wage
- NC: 12,540 employees, $29,650 avg wage
- MI: 12,030 employees, $30,520 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Dishwashers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 27,820 employees, $39,460 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 26,610 employees, $37,570 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 12,510 employees, $30,770 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 11,040 employees, $28,160 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 10,890 employees, $35,610 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 9,870 employees, $32,280 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 9,740 employees, $37,320 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 9,610 employees, $39,650 avg wage
- Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV: 9,240 employees, $36,010 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 8,880 employees, $31,770 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Dishwashers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Dishwashers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Dishwashers in 2023 was 471,670 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Dishwashers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Dishwashers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Dishwashers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Dishwashers in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Dishwashers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Dishwashers workers.
Education level distribution for Dishwashers.
Skills
Dishwashers need many skills, but most especially Time Management, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Speaking, Operations Monitoring.
Required skills for Dishwashers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Dishwashers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Dishwashers include Administration and Management, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training.
Knowledge areas required for Dishwashers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Dishwashers include Manual Dexterity, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Finger Dexterity, Extent Flexibility, Trunk Strength.
Required abilities for Dishwashers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Dishwashers.
Daily Activities
Dishwashers spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Handling and Moving Objects, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
Most important work activities for Dishwashers.
About
Dishwashers
The average yearly wage for Dishwashers was $40,345 in 2023.
SOC Code
35-9021 - Dishwashers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Dishwashers reports an average salary of $40,345.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 471,670 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 0.7%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.