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How much does a waiter earn in Sweden?

Waiters. 37,300 people employed in Sweden.

30,200SEK

per month is the median salary for a waiter in Sweden in 2025. That is 21% lower than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+2.4% since 2024

≈ €2,650 / $3,100 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 24,418 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 174 SEK an hour · 362,400 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

In the 2025 salary statistics, a waiter earned 30,500 SEK a month on average in Sweden. The median salary is 30,200 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 23,400 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 36,900 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
30,500 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
23,400 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
36,900 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
37,300
In this job in Sweden

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among waiters in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

23,400 SEKLowest 10%30,200 SEKMedian36,900 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 27,900–33,700 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Waiter starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 18–24, earn 27,900 SEK a month on average — roughly 22,700 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 18–24 27,900 SEK 22,683 SEK
Average, aged 25–34 32,600 SEK 26,228 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 23,400 SEK 19,289 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 27,900 SEK 22,683 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Waiter pay in the private and public sector

What waiters earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 30,500 SEK 30,200 SEK 30,500 SEK 29,900 SEK
Private sector 30,500 SEK 30,200 SEK 30,500 SEK 29,900 SEK

Waiter salary after tax in Sweden

What waiters actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 30,200 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 24,418 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

30,200 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 24,418 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 24,803 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 24,379 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 24,411 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 25,028 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 23,839 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 18–24 years, earn 27,900 SEK before tax — roughly 22,683 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 36,900 SEK, which is roughly 29,472 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for a waiter

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for a waiter

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 25,000 35,000 Median pay Number
Men 30,500 SEK 12,900
Women 29,900 SEK 24,400

Women's average salary is 97% of men's average salary in this job.

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Waiter salary by age

Pay for waiters normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 25,000 35,000 Average pay Men Women Number
18–24 years 27,900 SEK 27,800 SEK 28,000 SEK 16,000
25–34 years 32,600 SEK 32,500 SEK 32,700 SEK 8,800
35–44 years 32,200 SEK 32,900 SEK 31,700 SEK 5,300
45–54 years 30,700 SEK 31,100 SEK 30,400 SEK –
55–64 years 33,900 SEK – 33,900 SEK –

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 25,000 35,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Primary and secondary education 9-10 years (ISCED97 2) 28,900 SEK 29,200 SEK 28,800 SEK –
Upper secondary education, 2 years or less (ISCED97 3C) 32,500 SEK 30,600 SEK 34,000 SEK –
Upper secondary education 3 years (ISCED97 3A) 30,000 SEK 31,100 SEK 29,600 SEK 17,000
Post-secondary education, less than 3 years (ISCED97 4+5B) 31,600 SEK 34,200 SEK 30,400 SEK 4,900
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 30,500 SEK 29,900 SEK 31,100 SEK –

Waiter salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 25,000 35,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 31,900 SEK 33,400 SEK 31,100 SEK –
East-Central Sweden 26,900 SEK 26,300 SEK 27,500 SEK –
Småland and islands 31,700 SEK – – –
South Sweden 30,700 SEK 30,600 SEK 30,800 SEK –
West Sweden 31,500 SEK 32,200 SEK 31,100 SEK –
North-Central Sweden 28,500 SEK – 28,300 SEK –
Upper Norrland 30,800 SEK – – –

Waiter pay growth 2014–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 22,500 SEK in 2014 to 30,200 SEK in 2025, +34% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 5131, “hovmästare och servitörer”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Hovmästare
  • Kypare
  • Mässman
  • Placör
  • Restaurangchefsassistent
  • Servitris
  • Servitör
  • Sommelier
  • Vinkypare

Frequently asked questions

How much does a waiter earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 30,200 SEK a month before tax, against 29,500 SEK the year before (2024) — +2.4%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for a waiter in Sweden?

The median salary for a waiter in Sweden is 30,200 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so waiters sit 21% lower than the typical job.

How much does a waiter earn after tax?

The median salary for a waiter is 30,200 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 24,400 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for waiters?

The average (30,500 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (30,200 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what waiters typically earn.

What is the starting salary for a waiter in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: waiters aged 18–24 years earn 27,900 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 23,400 SEK. More in the section “Waiter starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for waiters?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 36,900 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Is there a gender pay gap among waiters in Sweden?

Women's average salary is 97% of men's in this job. The median salary is 30,500 SEK for men and 29,900 SEK for women. The figure is not adjusted for differences in age, sector or working hours.

Where in Sweden does a waiter earn the most?

Pay is highest in Stockholm, where waiters earn 31,900 SEK per month on average.

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