Bartenders job market in Michigan

Name: Bartenders in Michigan: occupation-weighted industry context
Creator: JobMarketHealth

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

Michigan industry employment changed 1.0 percentage points above the U.S. benchmark

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Bartenders in Michigan.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 100% · BLS QCEWCitation Evidence record

Occupation pay

What Bartenders earn in Michigan

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$36,780Michigan

Middle 50% of published wages: $28,640 – $57,310
U.S. median annual wage: $34,340
Reference period: May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around Michigan

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Bartenders, compared with the Michigan median of $36,780.

Michigan median$36,780

Lansing-East Lansing, MI$40,230+9.4% vs. state

Middle 50%$29,100 – $57,620Published employment870

Battle Creek, MI$39,430+7.2% vs. state

Middle 50%$29,800 – $48,950Published employment260

Niles, MI$38,970+6.0% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,100 – $59,450Published employment520

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI$38,430+4.5% vs. state

Middle 50%$29,770 – $61,710Published employment2,730

Ann Arbor, MI$38,300+4.1% vs. state

Middle 50%$29,520 – $60,200Published employment780

Midland, MI$38,170+3.8% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,110 – $59,070Published employment130

View 10 more published metro areas

Monroe, MI$37,800+2.8% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,500 – $55,600Published employment260

Kalamazoo-Portage, MI$37,660+2.4% vs. state

Middle 50%$29,290 – $56,750Published employment580

Traverse City, MI$37,300+1.4% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,860 – $52,570Published employment610

Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI$36,960+0.5% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,030 – $50,830Published employment410

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI$36,780Same as state at displayed precision

Middle 50%$29,510 – $59,040Published employment7,660

Saginaw, MI$36,550−0.6% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,600 – $57,420Published employment390

Flint, MI$36,130−1.8% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,170 – $49,700Published employment700

Jackson, MI$35,740−2.8% vs. state

Middle 50%$28,030 – $48,670Published employment260

Bay City, MI$34,720−5.6% vs. state

Middle 50%$27,870 – $47,530Published employment220

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI$23,000−37.5% vs. state

Middle 50%$19,880 – $34,160Published employment580

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the Michigan median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in Michigan’s weighted industry mix.

+1.5%Industry employmentMichigan industry employmentU.S. +0.5%vs. +0.5% U.S.

+1.3%Establishments in weighted industriesMichigan establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +2.0%vs. +2.0% U.S.

+0.7%Avg. weekly industry wageMichigan avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +2.9% · not occupation payvs. +2.9% U.S. · not occupation pay

+1.0 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 26,064 represented establishments, 86.02% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for bartenders in Michigan

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

The highest-paying metro has a smaller employment market

Among 15 comparable metro estimates associated with Michigan in OEWS May 2025, the pay leader and employment-size leader differ. Lansing-East Lansing, MI has the highest median annual pay at $40,230, with estimated employment of 870. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI has the largest employment estimate at 7,660, with median pay of $36,780. The pay leader's median is 9.4% higher; estimated employment describes existing jobs, not available vacancies.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Some metro estimates cross state lines. Higher nominal pay does not establish better living standards or better chances of finding a job.

Leisure and hospitality has the largest positive weighted contribution

The leading industry groups examined cover 98.8% of this occupation's national industry mix. Within that comparison for Michigan in January to March 2026, Leisure and hospitality accounts for 89.0% of the positive weighted contributions, with its own employment changing +1.6% year over year. These contributions weight industry growth by the national industry mix and do not count occupation jobs created.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Published median pay is above the U.S. median

Michigan's published median annual wage for bartenders is 7.1% above the national median in OEWS May 2025. The state estimate is $36,780, compared with $34,340 across the U.S. These medians are not adjusted for living costs and do not describe every worker.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

Michigan industry employment over time

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values

Michigan · 2026 Q1+1.5%
U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark+0.5%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value

Quarterly Michigan industry employment changes and coverage
Quarter	Michigan	Coverage
2024 Q2	+1.4%	100%
2024 Q3	+0.8%	100%
2024 Q4	+1.4%	100%
2025 Q1	+1.0%	100%
2025 Q2	+0.8%	100%
2025 Q3	+0.5%	100%
2025 Q4	+0.6%	100%
2026 Q1	+1.5%	100%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows Michigan’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters: 8
Earliest quarter: 2024 Q2
Latest quarter: 2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark: +0.5%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Bartenders Work

The occupation mix determines which Michigan industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the Michigan Bartenders context
Industry group	Occupation mix	Employment change	Establishments	Avg. weekly industry wage
Leisure and hospitality	85.9%	+1.6%	26,064	$555
Other services	5.6%	+3.0%	27,517	$943
Manufacturing	4.9%	-0.9%	20,584	$1,774
State and local	0.9%	+0.6%	6,231	$1,299
Trade, transportation, and utilities	0.9%	-0.7%	55,698	$1,258
Professional and business services	0.5%	0.0%	65,186	$2,036

Which industries are growing?

4 weighted industries are growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive Michigan employment change are listed.

Other services+3.0%
Leisure and hospitality+1.6%
State and local+0.6%
Professional and business services0.0%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current Michigan context

Current Michigan Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in Michigan. They are not Bartenders demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · Michigan

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

102.8Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026

+2.8%Versus the February 2020 baseline

+1.1%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index

Indeed postings index
Observation date	Index (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 2026	102.15
Jul 31, 2026	101.50
Aug 7, 2026	101.09
Aug 14, 2026	100.74
Aug 21, 2026	101.06
Aug 28, 2026	101.87
Sep 4, 2026	101.51
Sep 11, 2026	101.58
Sep 18, 2026	101.36
Sep 25, 2026	101.70
Oct 2, 2026	101.91
Oct 9, 2026	102.01
Oct 16, 2026	102.89
Oct 23, 2026	102.85

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Bartenders in Michigan FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Bartenders in Michigan?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the Michigan industries weighted to Bartenders changed +1.5% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with +0.5% nationwide.

Are wages for Bartenders rising in Michigan?

QCEW does not publish pay for Bartenders in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +0.7% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this Michigan industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Bartenders openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation: Bartenders
SOC code: 35-3011
State: Michigan
QCEW release label: QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period: 2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year: +1.5%State data coverage 100%
U.S. benchmark, year over year: +0.5%
Difference from U.S. benchmark: +1.0 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year: +1.3%State data coverage 100%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year: +0.7%State data coverage 100%
Industry mix vintage: EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date: Aug 28, 2026
Source verification: Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL: https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/bartenders/michigan#evidence-record
Derived by: JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Methodology BLS QCEW How to cite QCEW state context release, 2026 Q1

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.