Waiters and Waitresses
Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.
2,270,910 people do this job in the US. $35,230 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 11%
- 0%
- 89%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 7%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 11%. Today's estimate: 11%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 25 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roll silverware, set up food stations, or set up dining areas to prepare for the next shift or for large parties.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 14% | 21 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Stock service areas with supplies such as coffee, food, tableware, and linens.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Collect payments from customers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Perform food preparation duties, such as preparing salads, appetizers, and cold dishes, portioning desserts, and brewing coffee.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Assist host or hostess by answering phones to take reservations or to-go orders, and by greeting, seating, and thanking guests.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 8 min4 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 4 min2 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Prepare tables for meals, including setting up items such as linens, silverware, and glassware.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 7 min3 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 4 min2 min to 10 min | Stays with people | |
| Fill salt, pepper, sugar, cream, condiment, and napkin containers.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 10 min4 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Prepare hot, cold, and mixed drinks for patrons, and chill bottles of wine.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 7 min3 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 4 min2 min to 8 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Food Servers, Nonrestaurant10% now, 10% by 2028
- Bartenders14% now, 44% by 2028
- Fast Food and Counter Workers15% now, 17% by 2028
- Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop12% now, 15% by 2028
- Baristas12% now, 12% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).