2026 Edition · An annual reference on what work pays

Dallas vs. Houston

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.

Data released May 2025 BLS OEWS · SOC 35-9011
Fig. 1 — Side by side

Both distributions, one scale

10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
20k30k DALLAS $21,050 HOUSTON $21,850
Table 1 — Adjusted

Houston's median is 3.8% higher — but after local prices, Houston still leads by 8.5%.

Dallas's median $21,050 buys $20,400 at national prices (price parity 103.1); Houston's $21,850 buys $22,200 (98.6).

Table 2 — The figures

Point by point

Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Houston against Dallas.

DallasHoustonΔ
Employment18,60016,740−10.0%
10th percentile$15,710$16,350+4.1%
25th percentile$17,820$16,920−5.1%
Median$21,050$21,850+3.8%
75th percentile$28,920$28,250−2.3%
90th percentile$35,960$33,960−5.6%
Sources

How this page was made

Wage data
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
Price parity
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
Full pages
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Dallas · Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Houston

Percentiles are reported exactly as released. Derived (price-adjusted) figures round to the nearest hundred. We take no payment for how any figure is presented.