Salary comparison
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant: Denver vs Ithaca
Ithaca, NY pays about 1.0% more for food servers, nonrestaurant on paper — $40,240 vs $39,850. But once you factor in what it costs to live there, Ithaca comes out ahead by $390 a year in real buying power.
Denver, CO
$39,850
$37,340
$46,600
$19.16
100
$39,850/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
Ithaca, NY
$40,240
$36,860
$42,050
$19.35
100
$40,240/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
What the numbers mean in practice
The headline gap is $390 a year (1.0%) in favor of Ithaca. That is the raw salary difference before any living costs.
Denver runs a cost index of 100 against the national baseline of 100; Ithaca sits at 100. After adjusting the median for those costs, Ithaca is the better deal by $390 a year — that is what each paycheck actually buys locally.
If you are weighing a move from Denver to Ithaca for this role, the raise needs to beat 1.0% to come out ahead after living costs. Anything below that and you are earning more on paper but keeping less.
Common questions
Where do food servers, nonrestaurant earn more, Denver or Ithaca?
Ithaca pays $40,240 on median — about 1.0% more than Denver ($39,850). Based on BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Which city is the better deal after living costs?
Ithaca. Once you divide each median by the local cost index, Ithaca gives you roughly$40,240 of real buying power versus $39,850 in the other city.