Here's How CA Restaurant Worker Wages Compare To Rest Of U.S.
CALIFORNIA — California may have one of the nation's highest costs of living, but its hourly wages for restaurant workers lag slightly behind those of other states.
California had the third-highest cost of living in the country in the third quarter of this year, just behind that of Hawaii, the priciest state, and the city of Washington, with the second-highest cost of living, according to data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.
Yet a recent analysis by Next Insurance found that California had only the sixth-highest average hourly restaurant wages in the nation.
Golden State hourly wages lagged behind those of the District of Columbia — the area with the highest restaurant wages — by more than $4.
Here are the top 10 states when it comes to restaurant worker pay, according to Next Insurance.
District of Columbia: $20.15.
Hawaii: $19.61.
Washington: $17.32.
New York: $16.81.
Massachusetts: $16.21.
California: $15.93.
Vermont: $15.82.
Connecticut: $15.53.
Arizona: $15.19.
Colorado: $15.07.
Next Insurance looked at factors such as a state's overall median income, the number of open restaurant jobs and restaurant reopenings.
California restaurant workers are better paid than those of many other states. But the Golden State also has some of the most restrictive COVID-19-related rules when it comes to dining in.
Most states have eliminated restrictions, but they remain in a handful of others, including Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania.
This article originally appeared on the San Francisco Patch
