The Average Income Of A Restaurant Sommelier Might Make You Pause

While the term "sommelier" translates into the French word for butler, it's use generally refers to someone knowledgeable in the purchasing, storing, and serving of wine. Sommeliers can recommend food and wine pairings at restaurants, and even present wine choices within a diners' budget — something that can be especially important given that wine prices are likely to be affected by tariffs. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, restaurant servers without any formal education in the profession earn, on average, $14.92 an hour, or $31,040 annually. Salaries can increase significantly, though, with experience and certifications. The Court of Master Sommeliers Americas offers four levels of education and corresponding certificates and diplomas for those looking to become a sommelier. However, currently just 171 of their graduates are at the top master level. This small amount can represent a significant competitive edge for aspiring sommeliers who are willing to pursue the highest certification. Meanwhile, the Culinary Institute of America offers an advanced wine, beverage, and hospitality concentration within their bachelor's degree programs. 

To help account for the spectrum of skills and experience, Zip Recruiter shows a range of pay for wine sommeliers — from $15,500 to $86,000 – with an average of $21 an hour or $43,449 annually, depending on with factors like skills and experience. Meanwhile, Salary.com shows that, as of July 2025, sommeliers earn an average of $28 per hour or $58,303 annually. They further break the data by listing salaries in the 10th percentile as $46,240, but $73,057 at the 90th percentile.

Sommelier jobs in large cities, or ones filled with tourist attractions, may come with higher wages than a smaller town. Career site Zippia lists the top 10 cities for sommeliers in 2025 — and the No. 1 slot should come as no surprise: New York City. In July 2025, Zippia listed 50 sommeliers jobs with salaries ranging from $32,000 for the lowest 10%, an average salary of $63,040, and the top 10% earning an average of $120,000. Looking at Las Vegas, Salary.com lists salary ranges from $45,390 through $71,713 in July 2025, with an average of $57,230. Meanwhile, Miami was similar with an average of $56,018, and a range of $44,428 through $70,194. On the West Coast, Los Angeles had an average of $64,582 with a range of between $51,221 and $80,926.

While fine dining establishments are more likely to offer higher paid positions, it's not the only pathway. Other possibilities include working in retail stores where quality wines are sold, in vineyards and/or wineries, and in wine education. Or, if importing and exporting wines sounds intriguing to you, the field comes with a median salary of $77,216, and a range of between $64,761 and $90,822.

If you've attended a sommelier program, you can gain job hunting insights from your teachers and/or course counselors. Plus, you might be able to network with your fellow classmates. Consider asking someone from your program to serve as an ongoing mentor, and find out if the program maintains a listing of job openings for its graduates. Consider pursuing roles outside of your ultimate end goal in order to gain experience, build your professional resume, earn income in the industry, and grow more connections. 

In addition to setting alerts for online job sites like Indeed, Zip Recruiter, and FlexJobs, also consider more industry-specific sites like IHire Hospitality Services. A potential advantage for job seekers in the sommelier industry is that restaurants and other hospitality centers tend to experience high rates of turnover — although turnover beyond regular industry rates can be a major red flag with a particular employer. Most importantly, don't get discouraged if not all potential employers respond to you, since you might have inadvertently applied to a ghost job in which the employer didn't actually intend to hire. In these cases, employers build a slush file of applications to keep on hand in case they need them.