How much does a sommelier make?

The short answer: in the United States, Salary.com puts the average sommelier salary at $66,844 a year, about $32 an hour, with the middle half of sommeliers earning between $59,575 and $75,416 (data as of 1 October 2026). Treat any single number with care: tips, service charges and the kind of restaurant change real take-home pay a lot.

Source: Salary.com, Sommelier salary in the United States. Other salary websites publish different estimates, sometimes far apart, because they collect different data.

What changes a sommelier's pay

• The city. Big, expensive cities pay more, and cost more to live in.
• The kind of place. Fine dining, luxury hotels and restaurant groups usually pay more than casual restaurants.
• Your role. A commis sommelier earns less than a head sommelier or a wine director. See the sommelier ranks.
• Tips and service charges. Many sommeliers share in tips or a service charge, and how a restaurant does this makes a big difference.
• Certification. A certificate helps you get hired and promoted, but no level comes with a fixed salary.
• What you sell. A sommelier who grows wine sales grows their value to the restaurant.

How much does a Master Sommelier make?

There is no official figure, and I won't invent one. Fewer than 300 people have passed the Master Sommelier Diploma since the first exam in 1969. Many Master Sommeliers lead wine programmes, teach, consult or work for importers and producers, and their pay varies as widely as those jobs do.

Careers beyond the restaurant floor

• Wine director for a restaurant group or hotel.
• Sales for an importer or distributor.
• Buyer for a wine shop or online retailer.
• Educator for a wine school or course.
• Brand ambassador for a producer or house.
• Your own business. I went from the floor to building SOMM DIGI, my own wine and AI company.

How to earn more as a sommelier

• Get certified. Start with the Level 1 practice test, then aim for Certified and Advanced.
• Learn to sell. Guests who trust you buy better bottles and come back.
• Learn the business side: costs, pricing, inventory and spreadsheets. Head sommeliers and wine directors are managers too.
• Move to bigger wine programmes when you are ready to grow.
• Build your name. A visible, trusted voice in wine opens doors a CV can't.

One more option: working at sea. When I was a sommelier on cruise ships, the money was good mainly because I could save almost all of it. Read the reality of the job.

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