If you are a server in Arkansas or are considering becoming one, then you should know what the minimum wage is for servers in Arkansas to see if you are being paid the correct amount, or whether this is a job you would like to do.
The laws surrounding the Arkansas minimum wage for servers acts as a safety net for those who may not earn enough in tips to meet the minimum wage threshold in the state.
Servers take care of customers with food and beverages in a restaurant or similar type of business where food and drinks are brought to the table by them, and as part of this service, a server will typically receive tips (gratuities) for doing so. Arkansas servers usually rely less on their hourly wage and more on the generosity of guests to make a reasonable living from being a server.
Server Minimum Wage in Arkansas
So, what is the minimum wage in Arkansas for waitresses? The minimum cash wage for servers in Arkansas is the same as the tipped minimum wage in Arkansas, which is $2.63 per hour. This is the minimum per hour that an Arkansas server must be paid and that an Arkansas employer must pay its servers. The graphic below shows the AR server minimum wage rate.
Arkansas Server Minimum Wage 2024 (Minimum Cash Wage and Tip Credits)
$2.63 per hour may sound like a small amount to be paid an hour, but Arkansas servers are required to be supplemented by their employers via “tipped credit”, which is, in Arkansas’ case, $8.37 per hour, making the server minimum wage in Arkansas a total of $11.00 per hour. This is the same as the regular minimum wage in Arkansas which applies to all types of employees that work in the state.
Per the tipped minimum wage laws that apply to all states, Arkansas employers are required to pay their employees an hourly minimum cash wage with the addition of tip credits. What tipped credits allow employers to do is pay tipped employees less than the minimum wage so long as they can make up the equivalent difference via tips per hour.
Tip credit not only allows server employees to be paid less than the minimum hourly wage, but it is also the same concept with bartenders, hotel workers, some airport workers, valet car parking attendants, and pretty much any job role where tips are the primary income for the employee.
In Arkansas, servers must be paid a base minimum cash wage of $2.63 per hour. The expectation is that Arkansas servers will make at least an additional $8.37 per hour in tips on average across their pay period, and if they do, then the employer is only obligated to pay an Arkansas server $2.63 per hour.
Let’s assume that a server does not make at least $8.37 per hour in tips as an average over the course of their pay period (usually two weeks), then the employer must step in and pay the Arkansas server a tip credit of up to $8.37 per hour, so the server makes a minimum of $11.00 per hour for the duration of the pay period or week that they worked.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Tipped Employees
The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, also known as the FLSA, is a federal law from the U.S. Department of Labor.
This law establishes a national minimum wage, defines classifications for employees, and covers other essential standards and requirements for employers.
Federal law requires that employers make tipped employees aware of the cash wage paid (currently, the national direct hourly salary is $2.13 per hour), let them know about the tip credit, and explain any tip pooling systems at the workplace.
Because Arkansas’ minimum wage rate is higher than the federal minimum wage rate, the state laws supersede the federal regulations.
Arkansas Server Minimum Wage History
The table below showcases the current rate and history of the Arkansas server minimum wage over the past 8+ years.
You can see when there were increases in the server minimum wage, which includes not only the tipped minimum wage rates but the tipped credit rates too.
| State | Tipped Server Wage | Tip Credit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2023 | $2.63 | $8.37 | $11.00 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2022 | $2.63 | $8.37 | $11.00 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2021 | $2.63 | $8.37 | $11.00 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2020 | $2.63 | $7.37 | $10.00 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2019 | $2.63 | $6.62 | $9.25 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2018 | $2.63 | $5.87 | $8.50 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2017 | $2.63 | $5.87 | $8.50 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2016 | $2.63 | $5.37 | $8.00 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2015 | $2.63 | $4.87 | $7.50 |
| Arkansas server minimum wage 2014 | $2.63 | $3.63 | $7.25 |
Average Server Salary in Arkansas (2024)
If you are a server or are looking to work as a server in a restaurant or similar service-related business in Arkansas, knowing the hourly wage for servers is important, but knowing what you can expect to earn is even more critical.
Most Arkansas servers will not be satisfied with just earning $11.00 per hour, because based on working 35-40 hours a week, they would only earn $385-$440 per week, and when you compare this to the cost of living in Arkansas, you may struggle to make ends meet.
How much do servers make in Arkansas?
The average server hourly wage in Arkansas (according to the job website Indeed.com) is $15.31 per hour. So, if you were to work an 8-hour shift or a total of 8 hours in a day across two shifts, you could earn (on average) about $122.48 (8 hrs x $15.31). If you worked five days per week and rounded your daily pay to $15, then you could earn about $600 per week.
If you took just two weeks off a year and worked for 50 weeks you could earn $30,000. If you decided to take 3 weeks off per year, then you could earn 49 x $600 = $29,400 for the year. This, of course, is before Arkansas income tax.
The above calculations are just averages to give you an idea of what you can earn as an Arkansas server. The most important aspects of how much you can earn will depend on how good you are at your job what type of food/beverage establishment you work at, and how busy it is.
Also, many people who work at restaurants or similar establishments are willing to work more than 40 hours per week so they might qualify for overtime pay.
If the average food item on the menu is $10-$15 and the restaurant mainly serves wings, burgers, quesadillas, nachos, fries, and similar snack-style food, then the average check for the table you serve will be much less, and therefore, the percentage tip against the total check will result in you earning less per table you serve and you’ll have to serve many tables during your shift.
On the other hand, if you work at a finer dining restaurant or one that is really busy and serves steak, seafood, and other higher-priced menu and beverage items and each guest is spending $40-$60 or so, then you stand to earn more money as the total check for each table you serve will be that much higher and the percentage tip you receive on a higher check will be a lot more.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the most important takeaway from this is that, as an Arkansas employer, it is your responsibility to pay your servers a minimum hourly rate + tip credit that equals or surpasses the Arkansas minimum wage in the event that your servers do not earn enough to meet the $11.00 per hour threshold.
Failing to do so will be breaking federal and state laws. Equally, it is important that as a server working in Arkansas, you know your rights and how much you should be paid with your hourly wage and tip credits.
Suppose you have specific questions about the laws surrounding the minimum wage for servers (tipped employees) from both an employer and employee perspective. In that case, you can contact the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing. Additionally, if you are an employee who isn’t being paid what you legally should be, you can file a complaint with them too.
