Server Minimum Wage in Nevada

If you work as a server in Nevada or would like to get into the industry, then you should be aware of what the minimum wage is for servers in Nevada to ensure you are being paid the correct amount, or whether this is a job you would like to do.

The Nevada server minimum wage rate in 2022 is $9.75 for those working for businesses that do not provide health insurance benefits for their employees.

For those working for businesses that do provide their employees with health insurance, the server minimum wage is $8.75 per hour.

Servers are the lifeblood of the hospitality industry and they serve their customers with food and beverages in a restaurant or similar type of business where food and drinks are delivered to the table.

As part of providing this service, a server will typically receive tips (gratuities) for doing so.

There is not a tipped hourly rate which is different from the official Nevada minimum wage of $9.75 per hour unless the employee is provided with health insurance. So, this means that servers will not need to rely on a tip credit to make up the minimum wage rate in Nevada with either employment situation.

This is certainly advantageous as Nevada employees will then earn tips on top of the minimum wage in Nevada.

For employees working for businesses that provide health insurance and are paid $8.75 per hour, this is particularly good as you will likely receive tips that far exceed the regular minimum wage rate of $9.75 per hour.

What is the Nevada Server Minimum Wage in 2022?

What is the actual minimum wage for a server in Nevada? $8.75 per hour is the wage if you are employed with health insurance in Nevada, and $9.75 per hour if you are employed with no health insurance in the state.

Essentially, it is no different than the regular minimum wage in the state, which is different from how tipped employees are paid in many other states.

The graphic below displays the server minimum wage rates in Nevada for 2022.

Minimum Cash Wage and Tip Credits in Nevada

Tip credit is usually put in place to supplement tipped workers. In the case of servers in a lot of other states, a restaurant owner, or any business that you work for where tips are your primary source of income will generally pay you less than the regular minimum wage and give you tip credits if you don’t earn enough each week.

In Nevada’s case, there is no tip credit, nor is there a tip cash wage, meaning that tipped employees such as servers are paid the exact same as the regular minimum wage in Nevada ($9.75 per hour) unless they are covered by health insurance by their employer. If this is the case, servers will be paid $1.00 per hour less, making the wage $8.75.

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 Nevada’s minimum wage rate is higher than the federal minimum wage rate, the state laws supersede the federal regulations.

Nevada Server Minimum Wage History

The table below showcases the current rate and history of the Nevada server minimum wage over the past 15+ years since 2008.

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.

Average Server Salary in Nevada

If you are a server or are looking to work as a server in a restaurant or similar service-related business in Nevada, knowing the hourly wage for servers is important, but knowing what you can expect to earn is even more important.

Most Nevada servers will not be satisfied with just earning $9.75 per hour, or even $8.75 per hour because based on working 40 hours a week, they would only earn $390 or $350 per week, and when you compare this to the cost of living in Nevada, you may struggle to make ends meet.

How much do servers make in Nevada?

The average server hourly wage in Nevada in 2022 (according to the job website Indeed.com) is $16.00 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 $128 (8 hrs x $16.00).

If you worked five days per week then you could make about $640 per week!

If you took just two weeks off a year and worked for 50 weeks you could earn $32,000. If you decided to take 3 weeks off per year, then you could earn 49 x $640 = $21,360 for the year.

The above calculations are just averages to give you an idea of what you can earn as a Nevada server. The most important aspects of how much you can earn will depend on how good you are at your job and what type of food/beverage establishment you work at, and how busy it is.

Also, many people that work at restaurants or similar establishments are willing to work more than 40 hours per week so they might qualify for overtime pay.

Final Thoughts

Perhaps the most important takeaway from this is that, as a Nevada employer, it is your responsibility to pay your servers the minimum hourly rate of $9.75 or $8.75 per hour depending on the size of your business.

Nevada makes it less complicated for you since you do not have to worry about tip credits when you hire servers and other tipped workers.

Failing to pay the correct wage could break federal and state laws. Equally, it is vital that as a server working in Nevada, you know your rights and how much you should be paid with your hourly wage.

If you have specific questions about the laws surrounding the minimum wage for servers (tipped employees) from both an employer and employee perspective, you can contact the Nevada Department of Business and Industry.

Additionally, if you are an employee who isn’t being paid what you legally should be, you can file a complaint with them too.