What Bartenders earn in Arlington County, VA
According to the latest federal wage data for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the median pay for Bartenders in Arlington County, VA is $48,030 a year, or $23.09 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $38,759 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Arlington County, VA.
The mean wage is $56,200, which is 17.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 14,560 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Arlington County, VA has roughly 236,254 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Bartenders in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $34,480 a year ($16.58 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $91,510 or more ($44.00 an hour). That is a gap of $57,030 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $37,070 at the 25th percentile and $74,510 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.7 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $23.09 an hour or $48,030 a year at the median for Arlington County, VA. Before any deductions, that is $4,003 a month, $1,847 every two weeks and $924 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.63 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Bartenders
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Bartenders this way: "Mix and serve drinks to patrons, directly or through waitstaff."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Collect money for drinks served"; "Check identification of customers to verify age requirements for purchase of alcohol"; "Balance cash receipts"; "Attempt to limit problems and liability related to customers' excessive drinking by taking steps such as persuading customers to stop drinking, or ordering taxis or other transportation for intoxicated patrons".
Job outlook for Bartenders
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 762,600 jobs in 2025 to 800,500 in 2035, a change of +5%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 121,200 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 15.9% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $34,340 for this occupation; the Arlington County, VA median of $48,030 is 39.9% above it.
How pay in Arlington County, VA compares
Compared with the Virginia average
A worker in this occupation in Arlington County, VA earns $924 more than the Virginia average of $47,106, a premium of 2.0%. Over a year that premium is worth $924 before tax and roughly $746 after tax. Within Virginia, Arlington County, VA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Bartenders is $34,134 across the contiguous United States. At $48,030, Arlington County, VA pays $13,896 more, which is 40.7% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Arlington County, VA
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Arlington County, VA, Bartenders ranks number 487 by median pay, ahead of about 21% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $195,190 a year, which is $147,160 more than the median for Bartenders.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Bartenders earning the Arlington County, VA median of $48,030, they add up to $9,271. The result is $38,759 of take-home pay a year ($3,230 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 19.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $32,280. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,635, an effective 7.6% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,978 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $696. FICA totals $3,674, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Virginia
Virginia income tax on this salary is $1,962 a year, or 4.1% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 54% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $164 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Arlington County, VA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Arlington County, VA show an average adjusted gross income of $159,169 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 19.4% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 6.1%, compared with the 7.6% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Arlington County, VA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Arlington County, VA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $38,759 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Arlington County, VA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,204 a month ($26,448 a year), and at $2,438 for two bedrooms. For Bartenders, a one-bedroom absorbs 68.2% of take-home pay and 55.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.2% of gross pay for Bartenders in Arlington County, VA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,523 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $597, for $2,119 in total. Gasoline in Virginia averages $3.09 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,429.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $33,432 a year in Arlington County, VA. Subtract that from $38,759 of take-home pay and $5,327 remains, which is $444 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 11.1% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Local housing and commute data for Arlington County, VA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Arlington County, VA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Arlington County, VA, set beside the Virginia and national medians.
Property taxes in Arlington County, VA
Homeowners in Arlington County, VA pay a median of $8,153 a year in real estate taxes, 192% above the Virginia median of $2,790 and 161% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $895,000, the median tax bill is 0.91% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Bartenders median of $48,030, a tax bill of that size would equal 17.0% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Arlington County, VA
Renters in Arlington County, VA pay a median gross rent of $2,322 a month in the Census survey, 47% above the Virginia median of $1,579. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,204 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $895,000, 133% above the Virginia median of $383,700. Median household income is $142,114, 53% above the Virginia median of $93,170, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 18.6% of that income.
Commuting in Arlington County, VA
Workers in Arlington County, VA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 26.2 minutes each way, 4% below the Virginia average of 27.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.4 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 35.3% of workers in Arlington County, VA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Bartenders afford to live in Arlington County, VA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $48,030 that ceiling is $1,201 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,204 is $1,003 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $42.38 an hour; the median for Bartenders is $23.09, which is 46% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.63 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 27.3 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,438 a month means $1,219 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,820 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $17,147.
How fast you can save
At $444 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 23 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 46 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Bartenders pay in Arlington County, VA
How much do Bartenders make per hour in Arlington County, VA?
The median is $23.09 per hour, based on $48,030 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $16.58 at the 10th percentile to $44.00 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Bartenders take home after taxes in Arlington County, VA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $48,030 becomes $38,759 a year. That is $3,230 a month, $1,491 every two weeks or $745 a week.
How much tax do Bartenders pay in Arlington County, VA?
Total taxes are $9,271 a year, an effective rate of 19.3%: $3,635 federal income tax, $3,674 FICA and $1,962 Virginia income tax.
Do Bartenders earn more in Arlington County, VA than elsewhere in Virginia?
Yes. The local median of $48,030 is +2.0% versus the Virginia average of $47,106, a difference of $924 a year.
Can Bartenders afford a one-bedroom apartment in Arlington County, VA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,204 a month against take-home pay of $3,230, which is 68.2% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,201 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Bartenders in Arlington County, VA?
About $444 a month ($5,327 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,432 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Arlington County, VA at the 30% guideline?
$42.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,448 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Bartenders is $23.09.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Virginia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.