Neighborhood bars sit at the center of the U.S. drinking-place economy, combining service jobs, local hospitality, and on-premise beverage sales. In May 2023, U.S. drinking places employed 411,940 workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). More recent industry figures show neighborhood bars growing in both the number of venues and their share of the on-premise market, while beer choices continue to shift toward draft, craft, and low- or non-alcoholic options.
Contents
- Employment and pay at drinking places
- The service workforce
- Management, operations, and security
- Beer volume and draft sales
- Craft beer and other beer styles
- Neighborhood bars in the on-premise market
Employment and pay at drinking places
The BLS May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data for NAICS 722400 provide a broad view of jobs in U.S. drinking places. The category recorded 411,940 workers. The BLS classified 100.00% of employment under all occupations, with a median hourly wage of $15.50 and a mean hourly wage of $18.17.
Food preparation and serving related occupations dominated the workforce. They accounted for 343,620 jobs, or 83.42% of drinking-place employment. Food and beverage serving workers alone numbered 235,750 and represented 57.23% of employment. These figures include the frontline roles most visible to guests, as well as related preparation and support work behind the bar and in the dining area.
Bartenders were the largest named occupation in the BLS breakdown, with 182,100 jobs. They represented 44.21% of employment in drinking places and had a mean hourly wage of $16.64. Waiters and waitresses numbered 50,430, with a mean hourly wage of $17.95 and an annual mean wage of $37,330.
The same BLS table counted 880 nonrestaurant food servers in drinking places. Their mean hourly wage was $17.99, equivalent to an annual mean wage of $37,420. Other food preparation and serving related workers numbered 29,240 and represented 7.10% of employment.
The BLS figures describe the U.S. drinking-place workforce rather than neighborhood bars alone. They are therefore useful for understanding the labor structure surrounding a neighborhood bar, but they should not be read as a separate neighborhood-bar employment count.
The service workforce
Support positions make up a substantial part of the operating model. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers numbered 14,480 in May 2023. Their mean hourly wage was $15.14, or an annual mean wage of $31,500. Dishwashers numbered 6,110, with a mean hourly wage of $14.57 and an annual mean wage of $30,310.
Hosts and hostesses accounted for 7,990 jobs. Their mean hourly wage was $15.61, and their annual mean wage was $32,460. Taken together, these roles illustrate how a guest-facing venue depends on more than bartending alone: greeting, clearing, cleaning, and maintaining the service area are all represented in the employment figures.
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations numbered 5,010 and had a mean hourly wage of $15.95. Within that group, building cleaning and pest control workers numbered 4,900. Their mean hourly wage was $15.87, with an annual mean wage of $33,000.
The concentration of employment in service and support work is also visible in the relationship between the overall wage measures and individual occupations. The overall median hourly wage for drinking places was $15.50, while bartenders averaged $16.64, waiters and waitresses averaged $17.95, and dishwashers averaged $14.57. These are BLS May 2023 figures for the national NAICS 722400 category, not current wages for a particular city, state, or bar.
Management, operations, and security
Management occupations accounted for 17,310 jobs in drinking places, or 4.20% of employment, according to the BLS May 2023 OEWS release. Top executives accounted for 12,190 jobs, or 2.96% of employment.
General and operations managers numbered 12,140 and had a mean hourly wage of $36.68, equivalent to an annual mean wage of $76,300. Food service managers numbered 4,160 and averaged $34.09 per hour, or $70,910 annually. Other management occupations numbered 4,550 and had a mean hourly wage of $35.25.
Smaller management categories show how varied venue responsibilities can be. Operations specialties managers numbered 360 and averaged $42.94 per hour, or $89,310 annually. Managers, all other, numbered 260 and averaged $41.77 per hour, or $86,880 annually. Entertainment and recreation managers numbered 110.
Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers totaled 210 jobs and had a mean hourly wage of $45.00. Marketing managers numbered 130 and averaged $42.37 per hour, or $88,120 annually. Sales managers numbered 60 and averaged $47.05 per hour, or $97,860 annually. Chief executives numbered 60 and had a mean hourly wage of $79.24, or $164,810 annually.
Business and financial operations occupations numbered 2,910, representing 0.71% of drinking-place employment. Business operations specialists numbered 2,380 and averaged $26.60 per hour. Buyers and purchasing agents had a mean hourly wage of $30.56 and an annual mean wage of $63,560. Human resources workers numbered 180 and averaged $32.92 per hour, or $68,480 annually; the BLS also reported the same count and wage for human resources specialists.
Safety is another measurable part of the workforce. Protective service occupations numbered 18,310 and averaged $16.52 per hour. Security guards accounted for 18,200 jobs, with a mean hourly wage of $16.50 and an annual mean wage of $34,320.
Beer volume and draft sales
The Brewers Association’s A Look Inside American Drinking Places tracks beer patterns in on-premise venues. In 2025, 49% of beer volume sold at drinking places was on draft. The draft share had hovered between 46% and 47% from 2017 through 2022, indicating a higher reported share in 2025 than across that earlier period.
Craft beer has been especially draft-oriented. The Brewers Association reported that craft beer sales at bars had roughly an 80% draft share over the past decade. This is a sales-mix measure for craft beer at bars, not a claim that 80% of all beer sold at drinking places was craft beer or draft beer.
Draft service can matter to neighborhood bars because it connects beverage selection with the physical service format. A bar’s draft program may include mainstream lager, local craft products, seasonal offerings, or low- and non-alcoholic beer. The available statistics quantify the national category, while individual menus and local customer preferences can differ.
Low- and non-alcoholic beer volume at drinking places was roughly five times pre-COVID levels, according to the Brewers Association. The source reports this as a volume comparison with pre-COVID conditions; it does not provide a single national percentage in the supplied figures.
Craft beer and other beer styles
Craft beer’s share of on-premise beer volume changed over the reported period. It held between 23% and 24% from 2016 through 2020, slipped to 21% in both 2021 and 2022, and rebounded to 26% in 2023. In 2025, craft beer accounted for 13.3% of beer volume across all channels, a broader measure that includes more than on-premise drinking places.
| Measure | Reported share | Period or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Craft beer, on-premise volume | 23%–24% | 2016–2020 |
| Craft beer, on-premise volume | 21% | 2021–2022 |
| Craft beer, on-premise volume | 26% | 2023 |
| Craft beer, all-channel volume | 13.3% | 2025 |
| Pale lager, on-premise volume | About 63% | Reported measure |
| Pale lager, on-premise volume | 68% | 2021–2022 |
| Pale lager, off-premise volume | 82% | Reported measure |
Pale lager accounted for about 63% of on-premise beer volume in the Brewers Association report. Its share reached 68% in 2021 and 2022. For comparison, pale lager accounted for 82% of off-premise beer sales volume. The on-premise and off-premise figures describe different channels and should not be treated as a direct trend line.
For a neighborhood bar, these statistics point to a market in which familiar lager remains important while craft and alternative beer formats occupy meaningful niches. The figures do not identify which brands are sold, how many taps a venue operates, or how preferences vary by region.
Neighborhood bars in the on-premise market
The Brewers Association reported that the number of neighborhood bars grew 0.4% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. In the same period, sports bars grew 5.1%, while casual nightclubs fell 3.4% and premium bars fell 26.9%.
NIQ’s On-Premise Channel Strategy provides a separate snapshot for mainland USA in August 2025. Traditional on-premise locations with alcohol licenses totaled 303,810, up 0.5% year over year. Other on-premise locations were up 2.8% year over year.
Casual dining accounted for 161,003 locations and represented more than half of all on-premise locations in the NIQ measure. Casual dining was up 1.0% year over year, and 82% of legal-drinking-age on-premise visitors said they typically visit a casual dining venue.
Neighborhood bars were the second-largest on-premise sub-channel in the NIQ report and grew 2.0% year over year. This 2.0% growth rate is a different measurement from the Brewers Association’s 0.4% first-quarter 2026 figure: the sources use different reports, periods, and market definitions, so the numbers should be kept separate rather than combined.
Other venue categories also show the competitive setting. Quick service restaurant on-premise venues were up 11.2% year over year in the NIQ data. Nightclub venues were down 2.1% year over year. Separately, 14% of consumers said they regularly visit high-energy venues.
Together, the available figures place neighborhood bars within a large and changing U.S. on-premise ecosystem. The strongest directly quantified signals are the 303,810 traditional licensed locations in mainland USA in August 2025, the second-largest sub-channel position for neighborhood bars in NIQ’s classification, and the reported year-over-year growth rates for neighborhood bars in the two industry sources. These measures describe market structure and movement; they do not estimate revenue, profit, attendance, or the performance of any individual bar.