Start with the answer
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant pay in Florida and New York
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant is $33,930 per year in Florida. It is $39,370 per year in New York. Florida is 13.8% below New York on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 35-3041 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 19,240 wage and salary jobs in Florida and 17,520 in New York. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
