What Waiters and Waitresses earn in Norfolk city, VA
According to the latest federal wage data for the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metropolitan area, the median pay for Waiters and Waitresses in Norfolk city, VA is $39,020 a year, or $18.76 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $32,037 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Norfolk city, VA.
The mean wage is $44,510, which is 14.1% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 13,100 people working in this occupation across the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Norfolk city, VA has roughly 233,596 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Waiters and Waitresses in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $27,860 a year ($13.39 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $70,850 or more ($34.06 an hour). That is a gap of $42,990 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $30,060 at the 25th percentile and $48,570 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $18.76 an hour or $39,020 a year at the median for Norfolk city, VA. Before any deductions, that is $3,252 a month, $1,501 every two weeks and $750 each week. After taxes the same job pays $15.40 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Waiters and Waitresses
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Waiters and Waitresses this way: "Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages"; "Collect payments from customers"; "Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff"; "Take orders from patrons for food or beverages".
Job outlook for Waiters and Waitresses
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 2,284,400 jobs in 2025 to 2,330,900 in 2035, a change of +2%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 423,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 18.5% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $35,230 for this occupation; the Norfolk city, VA median of $39,020 is 10.8% above it.
How pay in Norfolk city, VA compares
Compared with the Virginia average
Pay in Norfolk city, VA runs $3,516 below the Virginia average of $42,536, a gap of 8.3%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Virginia would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Virginia, the highest median we track for this job is $46,040 in Fairfax County, VA.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Waiters and Waitresses is $33,856 across the contiguous United States. At $39,020, Norfolk city, VA pays $5,164 more, which is 15.3% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Norfolk city, VA
Among the 520 occupations with published wages in Norfolk city, VA, Waiters and Waitresses ranks number 431 by median pay, ahead of about 17% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $129,090 a year, which is $90,070 more than the median for Waiters and Waitresses.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Waiters and Waitresses earning the Norfolk city, VA median of $39,020, they add up to $6,983. The result is $32,037 of take-home pay a year ($2,670 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $23,270. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,554, an effective 6.5% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,419 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $566. FICA totals $2,985, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Virginia
Virginia income tax on this salary is $1,444 a year, or 3.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 57% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $120 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Norfolk city, VA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Norfolk city, VA show an average adjusted gross income of $67,013 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.7% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.7%, compared with the 6.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Norfolk city, VA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Norfolk city, VA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $32,037 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Norfolk city, VA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,488 a month ($17,856 a year), and at $1,667 for two bedrooms. For Waiters and Waitresses, a one-bedroom absorbs 55.7% of take-home pay and 45.8% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 8.8% of gross pay for Waiters and Waitresses in Norfolk city, VA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,523 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $597, for $2,119 in total. Gasoline in Virginia averages $3.09 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,429.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $24,840 a year in Norfolk city, VA. Subtract that from $32,037 of take-home pay and $7,197 remains, which is $600 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 18.4% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Local housing and commute data for Norfolk city, VA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Norfolk city, VA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Norfolk city, VA, set beside the Virginia and national medians.
Property taxes in Norfolk city, VA
Homeowners in Norfolk city, VA pay a median of $2,890 a year in real estate taxes, 4% above the Virginia median of $2,790 and 7% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $289,900, the median tax bill is 1.00% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Waiters and Waitresses median of $39,020, a tax bill of that size would equal 7.4% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Norfolk city, VA
Renters in Norfolk city, VA pay a median gross rent of $1,321 a month in the Census survey, 16% below the Virginia median of $1,579. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,488 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $289,900, 24% below the Virginia median of $383,700. Median household income is $66,109, 29% below the Virginia median of $93,170, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 27.0% of that income.
Commuting in Norfolk city, VA
Workers in Norfolk city, VA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 23.0 minutes each way, 16% below the Virginia average of 27.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 3.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 10.2% of workers in Norfolk city, VA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Waiters and Waitresses afford to live in Norfolk city, VA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $39,020 that ceiling is $975 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,488 is $513 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $28.62 an hour; the median for Waiters and Waitresses is $18.76, which is 34% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $15.40 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 22.3 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,667 a month means $834 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,854 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $15,051.
How fast you can save
At $600 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 17 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 34 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Waiters and Waitresses pay in Norfolk city, VA
How much do Waiters and Waitresses make per hour in Norfolk city, VA?
The median is $18.76 per hour, based on $39,020 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $13.39 at the 10th percentile to $34.06 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Waiters and Waitresses take home after taxes in Norfolk city, VA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $39,020 becomes $32,037 a year. That is $2,670 a month, $1,232 every two weeks or $616 a week.
How much tax do Waiters and Waitresses pay in Norfolk city, VA?
Total taxes are $6,983 a year, an effective rate of 17.9%: $2,554 federal income tax, $2,985 FICA and $1,444 Virginia income tax.
Do Waiters and Waitresses earn more in Norfolk city, VA than elsewhere in Virginia?
No. The local median of $39,020 is -8.3% versus the Virginia average of $42,536, a difference of $3,516 a year.
Can Waiters and Waitresses afford a one-bedroom apartment in Norfolk city, VA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,488 a month against take-home pay of $2,670, which is 55.7% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $975 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Waiters and Waitresses in Norfolk city, VA?
About $600 a month ($7,197 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $24,840 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Norfolk city, VA at the 30% guideline?
$28.62 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $17,856 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Waiters and Waitresses is $18.76.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Virginia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.