Turnover Cost: Waiters and Waitresses, Illinois (2025)

Verified cost of employee turnover for the selected Waiters and Waitresses population in Illinois, United States, drawn from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025-may).

Estimated cost of turnover

Waiters and Waitresses · Illinois, United States

$17,800 – $71,200estimated range, 2025-may

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Estimated from a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics annual mean wage of $35,610 for Waiters and Waitresses in Illinois, United States (2025-may), multiplied by the 0.5×–2× cost of replacing an employee reported by SHRM and Gallup. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the wage, not the cost — the range is a planning estimate, and a real figure depends on time-to-fill, ramp-up, and lost productivity.

How Waiters and Waitresses compares in Illinois, United States

Annual mean wage — the input to the estimate above, compared directly rather than as a derived range. See all 33 industries.

  • Computer and Information Systems Managers
  • Home Health and Personal Care Aides
  • Waiters and Waitresses

What this means

Illinois data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025 shows an annual mean wage of $35,610 for this occupation. Applying the Work Institute's estimate that employee turnover costs between 33% and 200% of the departing employee's salary, replacing a server in Illinois would cost somewhere between $17,800 and $71,200. Real-world replacement costs vary based on tenure, complexity of ramp-up, and market conditions.

Estimated cost of turnover: Waiters and Waitresses vs regional average

Estimated cost of turnover in Illinois, United States, 2025-may. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
MeasureWaiters and WaitressesRegional average
Estimated cost of turnover$35,610$86,267