Pay in Singapore › waiters and counter staff
F&B service staff pay in Singapore: S$1,600 median for a waiter
A waiter in Singapore earned a median gross monthly wage of S$1,600 in June 2025: half earned less, half more, and the middle half sat between S$1,600 and S$2,280. Those are MOM's own measured figures, published 30 June 2026, not an estimate.
What each role pays, by percentile
| Role (MOM's own title) | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waiter | S$1,600 | S$1,600 | S$2,280 |
| Captain waiter/Waiter supervisor | S$1,927 | S$2,783 | S$3,417 |
| Food service counter attendant | S$1,600 | S$2,279 | S$2,641 |
| Cook | S$1,600 | S$1,897 | S$3,000 |
| Senior cook | S$1,664 | S$2,515 | S$3,495 |
Gross monthly wage: basic pay plus regular overtime, commissions and allowances, before CPF and income tax. Bonuses are excluded. June 2025, full-time resident employees in private-sector firms with 25 or more staff.
What those numbers cover, and what they do not
- They are gross, not basic. A role paid S$1,600 basic with S$400 of regular overtime and allowances shows here as S$2,000.
- They are for resident employees. A work-pass holder's package also has to clear the salary floor for the pass, which is a different test - see the pass salary floors.
- They are a distribution, not an offer. The median is the middle of what Singapore actually paid, so it tells you what the market does, not what one employer should pay.
If you are hiring waiters and counter staff
Your ad has to state the fixed monthly salary and the company doing the hiring before it can publish here - that is the rule that makes this board useful to the person reading it at 11pm. Paste your draft into the free ad check first: it names any line that breaks MOM or TAFEP's published wording rules, and reads the salary you printed against the floor for the role. Then post it free on Post a job - the first 300 employers get 5 postings and 100 contact unlocks.
If you are applying
You see the pay before you apply, because no ad publishes without it. Every live job is on the job board, and the figures above are what MOM measured for these roles in June 2025.
Questions people ask
How much does a waiter earn in Singapore?
A waiter's median gross monthly wage was S$1,600 in June 2025, with the middle half between S$1,600 and S$2,280. A waiter captain's median is S$2,783.
How much does a cook earn?
A cook's median gross monthly wage was S$1,897, and a senior cook's S$2,515, in June 2025.
Why is the waiter median exactly S$1,600?
Because S$1,600 is where a large part of that group's pay sits - the 25th percentile and the median are the same figure. It is a measured value, not a placeholder.
Source and date. Ministry of Manpower, Occupational Wages June 2025, table 4 - median, 25th and 75th percentiles of monthly basic and gross wages of common occupations by industry. Released 30 June 2026. The figures were read directly from MOM's published workbook (mrsd_2025Wages_table4.xlsx) and are not edited by us. BestHirePath is a job board, not an employment agency.
Straight answers
How much does a waiter earn in Singapore?
A waiter's median gross monthly wage was S$1,600 in June 2025, with the middle half between S$1,600 and S$2,280. A waiter captain's median is S$2,783.
How much does a cook earn?
A cook's median gross monthly wage was S$1,897, and a senior cook's S$2,515, in June 2025.
Why is the waiter median exactly S$1,600?
Because S$1,600 is where a large part of that group's pay sits - the 25th percentile and the median are the same figure. It is a measured value, not a placeholder.