Bartenders
Also called: Banquet Bartender, Bar Captain, Bartender, MixologistMix and serve drinks to patrons, directly or through waitstaff.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 4 of its 20 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 5.0% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.5% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 10.1 hires for every 10 job openings in accommodation and food services, which employs about 80% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.10.1 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $27,980 | $21,480 to $35,510 | 6,560 |
| Alaska | $30,460 | $28,250 to $36,450 | 2,280 |
| Arizona | $45,070 | $33,520 to $73,320 | 14,840 |
| Arkansas | $25,090 | $23,350 to $31,840 | 3,020 |
| California | $36,220 | $34,660 to $40,990 | 71,470 |
| Colorado | $38,170 | $32,430 to $62,640 | 17,000 |
| Connecticut | $38,780 | $34,010 to $62,120 | 7,680 |
| Delaware | $36,840 | $31,200 to $48,040 | 2,820 |
| District of Columbia | $53,920 | $38,780 to $75,140 | 5,760 |
| Florida | $35,150 | $29,140 to $46,850 | 55,170 |
| Georgia | $22,830 | $18,350 to $37,130 | 14,600 |
| Guam | $20,700 | $20,590 to $21,790 | 280 |
| Hawaii | $76,490 | $56,890 to $97,750 | 3,540 |
| Idaho | $27,240 | $19,970 to $38,070 | 3,430 |
| Illinois | $31,200 | $31,200 to $31,780 | 43,010 |
| Indiana | $22,770 | $20,220 to $30,940 | 12,880 |
| Iowa | $21,720 | $18,460 to $28,400 | 9,560 |
| Kansas | $27,940 | $21,130 to $46,700 | 5,430 |
| Kentucky | $28,780 | $17,920 to $45,770 | 6,870 |
| Louisiana | $20,850 | $16,640 to $30,050 | 10,140 |
| Maine | $48,920 | $34,800 to $75,250 | 3,230 |
| Maryland | $37,580 | $34,250 to $51,530 | 13,020 |
| Massachusetts | $37,440 | $34,200 to $49,500 | 19,850 |
| Michigan | $36,780 | $28,640 to $57,310 | 21,100 |
| Minnesota | $26,900 | $23,850 to $33,050 | 24,420 |
| Mississippi | $28,320 | $18,650 to $48,290 | 2,770 |
| Missouri | $30,090 | $28,600 to $40,420 | 14,410 |
| Montana | $26,010 | $22,310 to $28,770 | 5,370 |
| Nebraska | $30,180 | $28,080 to $46,040 | 7,320 |
| Nevada | $27,460 | $25,210 to $42,660 | 16,830 |
| New Hampshire | $28,800 | $21,230 to $58,160 | 3,840 |
| New Jersey | $44,020 | $35,330 to $58,310 | 16,260 |
| New Mexico | $36,980 | $27,050 to $50,630 | 3,790 |
| New York | $61,210 | $37,090 to $77,750 | 43,130 |
| North Carolina | $36,470 | $21,740 to $57,010 | 20,070 |
| North Dakota | $29,040 | $22,760 to $35,610 | 3,960 |
| Ohio | $30,880 | $25,720 to $44,940 | 27,420 |
| Oklahoma | $24,790 | $17,680 to $36,020 | 5,860 |
| Oregon | $38,900 | $33,750 to $57,120 | 11,950 |
| Pennsylvania | $28,420 | $21,270 to $45,530 | 37,490 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,630 | $21,840 to $28,190 | 3,480 |
| Rhode Island | $36,410 | $31,200 to $57,210 | 3,170 |
| South Carolina | $19,370 | $17,190 to $31,950 | 10,680 |
| South Dakota | $29,400 | $28,080 to $33,540 | 3,930 |
| Tennessee | $27,480 | $18,160 to $38,930 | 10,330 |
| Texas | $22,690 | $17,680 to $40,620 | 59,000 |
| Utah | $32,150 | $21,230 to $51,900 | 3,350 |
| Vermont | $45,450 | $30,470 to $69,220 | 2,080 |
| Virgin Islands | $61,380 | $30,970 to $76,810 | 490 |
| Virginia | $47,070 | $34,640 to $73,340 | 13,370 |
| Washington | $55,830 | $47,930 to $62,900 | 16,800 |
| West Virginia | $29,630 | $23,290 to $45,850 | 3,340 |
| Wisconsin | $23,460 | $20,910 to $29,860 | 29,520 |
| Wyoming | $22,030 | $18,240 to $32,150 | 2,660 |
Nationally: $34,340. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 4 of its 20 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Check identification of customers to verify age requirements for purchase of alcohol. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean glasses, utensils, and bar equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean bars, work areas, and tables. | Not published |
| Not much | Attempt to limit problems and liability related to customers' excessive drinking by taking steps such as persuading customers to stop drinking, or ordering taxis or other transportation for intoxicated patrons. | Not published |
| AI + software | Take beverage orders from serving staff or directly from patrons. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect money for drinks served. | Not published |
See all 20 tasks
| Not much | Serve wine, and bottled or draft beer. | Not published |
| Not much | Stock bar with beer, wine, liquor, and related supplies such as ice, glassware, napkins, or straws. | Not published |
| Not much | Serve snacks or food items to customers seated at the bar. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix ingredients, such as liquor, soda, water, sugar, and bitters, to prepare cocktails and other drinks. | Not published |
| AI + software | Balance cash receipts. | Not published |
| Not much | Slice and pit fruit for garnishing drinks. | Not published |
| Not much | Plan, organize, and control the operations of a cocktail lounge or bar. | Not published |
| Not much | Ask customers who become loud and obnoxious to leave, or physically remove them. | Not published |
| Not much | Arrange bottles and glasses to make attractive displays. | Not published |
| Not much | Order or requisition liquors and supplies. | Not published |
| AI alone | Create drink recipes. | 0.02% |
| Not much | Supervise the work of bar staff and other bartenders. | Not published |
| AI alone | Plan bar menus. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Prepare appetizers such as pickles, cheese, and cold meats. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 20 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 20 tasks fall under 13 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #3 Respond to customer problems or inquiries
- #36 Purchase goods or services
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain safety or security | |||
| Provide food or beverage services | |||
| Prepare foods or beverages | |||
| Execute financial transactions | |||
| Develop recipes or menus | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Respond to customer problems or inquiries | |||
| Purchase goods or services |
Show all 13 activities
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Reconcile financial data | |||
| Stock supplies or products |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A recipe or meal plan73%
- A document or report6%
- Ideas or a brainstorm4%
- A plan or strategy3%
- Advice or a recommendation3%
How they worked with Claude
16% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for bartenders specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 202,569 moves out
- 1 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 9%
- 2 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 8%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 3%
- 5 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 145,543 moves in
- 1 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 18%
- 2 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 8%
- 3 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 4 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers High +5.4% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 37% less than high school
- 43% high school
- 3% postsecondary certificate
- 16% some college
- 1% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 19 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 6% less than high school
- 30% high school
- 32% some college
- 12% associate's
- 18% bachelor's
- 2% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 4,041 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
1 program: Bartending/Bartender.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
51.2% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 4.9% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | 0.8% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Bartender). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Bartenders” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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