Indiana · BLS May 2025

Restaurant Host or Hostess Salary in Indiana

Also called host, hostess. SOC 35-9031.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 9,730 hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop working in Indiana. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · Indiana

$26,920A year, or $12.94 an hour.
Take-home a month$1,918After federal, state and FICA tax at 14.5%
Worth at national prices$28,844Prices here sit at 93.3 against 100
Against the nation13.7% belowNational median $31,200
What hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop earn in Indiana, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$19,290$9.27
25th percentile$22,210$10.68
MedianHalf earn more, half less$26,920$12.94
75th percentile$30,920$14.86
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$37,060$17.82
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$27,730$13.33
How we got this
  1. Median wage in IndianaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop earned more than this, half less.$26,920
  2. Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$12.94
  3. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$1,918 a month at an effective rate of 14.5%.$23,014 a year
  4. Worth at national average pricesPrices in Indiana sit at 93.3 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$28,844
  5. Against the national medianThe national median is $31,200.13.7% below
  6. Jobs countedA concentration of 1.09 against the nation's 1.00.9,730
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
  • Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
  • Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1

What lands in the bank

A $26,920 salary in Indiana, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $1,082 a year.
  • State income tax. $765 a year.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $2,059 a year.
  • Left over. $23,014 a year, $1,918 a month, an effective rate of 14.5%.

Run your own salary and filing status →

What $26,920 is worth in Indiana

Prices in Indiana sit at 93.3 against a national average of 100, so $26,920 earned here buys what $28,844 buys at national average prices.

  • Rents. 73.9 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
  • Against local households. The median household in Indiana takes in $71,957, so this occupation's median is 0.37 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 9% more concentrated in Indiana than in the country as a whole.

Compare two places properly →

Common questions

Restaurant Host or Hostess pay in Indiana, answered

How much does a restaurant host or hostess make in Indiana?

The median wage for restaurant hosts or hostesses in Indiana is $26,920 a year, or $12.94 an hour.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What is the take-home pay for a restaurant host or hostess in Indiana?

On the median wage of $26,920, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $23,014 a year, or roughly $1,918 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 14.5%.

Indiana takes $765 of it in state income tax.

Do restaurant hosts or hostesses earn more in Indiana than in the rest of the country?

No. The median in Indiana is 13.7% below the national median of $31,200.

Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Indiana sit at 93.3 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.

Is $26,920 a good salary in Indiana?

It is 0.37 times the median household income of $71,957. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.

Prices in Indiana run at 93.3 against a national average of 100, with rents at 73.9, so $26,920 here buys about what $28,844 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid restaurant hosts or hostesses earn in Indiana?

The top tenth earn $37,060 a year or more, against $19,290 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Indiana someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many restaurant hosts or hostesses are there in Indiana?

The survey counted 9,730 of these jobs in Indiana for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 9% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from