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The national median salary for Dishwashers is $34,798 per year ($16.73/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $29,682 and $37,440 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $42,869 per year. There are approximately 477,450 dishwashers employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Clean dishes, kitchen, food preparation equipment, or utensils.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+0.2%
Little or no change
Annual openings
77K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
478K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Restaurants and Other Eating Places
NAICS 722500
347K
$34,480
Special Food Services
NAICS 722300
32K
$36,540
Traveler Accommodation
NAICS 721100
27K
$37,650
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries
NAICS 713900
12K
$35,030
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly
NAICS 623300
11K
$35,240
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$12.59
$26,187
P25
$14.27
$29,682
P50MEDIAN
$16.73
$34,798
P75
$18.00
$37,440
P90
$20.61
$42,869
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · retail sector
Active
Openings Rate
4.6%
Quits Rate
3.1%
Retail openings rose to 737K (+52K) in March, rate up to 4.6%. Hires increased to 684K (+73K). Frontline turnover persists with quit rate at 3.1%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average dishwashers salary?
The national median salary for Dishwashers is $34,798 per year ($16.73/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $29,682 and $37,440 annually.
How much do top-earning dishwashers make?
The 90th percentile salary for Dishwashers is $42,869 per year ($20.61/hr). The 75th percentile is $37,440 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for dishwashers?
Entry-level Dishwashers (10th percentile) earn approximately $26,187 per year ($12.59/hr). The 25th percentile is $29,682 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.