Hospitality Jobs in Houston, TX

Local government data still shows frontline food-prep and serving pay as modest: Houston's mean hourly wage was $14.70 in May 2025, and the broader occupation family showed a $28,530 median annual wage, $30,570 mean, and a $22,590-to-$43,590 range from the 25th to 90th percentile. Recent local postings look higher because salary-visible roles center on about $65k to $75k and hourly-paid postings center on about $15 to $16 an hour, while Revelio Public Labor Statistics put the mean offered salary on new Texas hospitality openings at about $34,206 in September 2026 (n=2,096).

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 308 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $30,030 at the 25th percentile, $33,280 at the median and $36,400 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of November 10, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

Houston is still a real hospitality market, not a dead one. Food preparation and serving roles made up 9.4% of metro employment in May 2025, and Houston leisure and hospitality employment reached 376.9 thousand in August 2026, up 1.3172% year over year. But this is not an easy seller's market for workers: the metro unemployment rate was 5% in August 2026, while Texas hospitality, food service and travel employment was down 1.5% year over year and Texas hospitality postings were down 7.3% year over year in September 2026 according to Revelio Public Labor Statistics. Expect decent opportunity for flexible on-site workers, but tighter pay and more selectivity than the number of openings alone might suggest.

Best positioned: Candidates with open availability, on-site flexibility, food-safety basics, and willingness to start in entry roles have the best odds because about 75% of recent postings were entry level, about 95% or more were on-site, and food handler certification is a recurring local requirement.

Main caution: Do not mistake management-heavy posted salary ranges for typical frontline pay: local government wage data for the occupation family shows a $28,530 median annual wage and $14.70 mean hourly pay.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 569 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Compass Group: 25 open roles
2. Landry's, Inc.: 21 open roles
3. Maggiano's, Inc.: 21 open roles
4. Brinker: 16 open roles
5. The Aspenwood Company: 14 open roles
6. Mac Haik Restaurant Group: 12 open roles
7. Compass Group: 10 open roles
8. Campero USA Corp.: 8 open roles
9. HCA Houston Healthcare: 8 open roles
10. Marriott International, Inc.: 8 open roles

Where the openings are

• Houston: 315
• The Woodlands: 32
• Sugar Land: 24
• Katy: 21
• Spring: 19
• Pearland: 17
• Cypress: 15
• Tomball: 14

Work arrangement

on-site 538 (100%), hybrid 2 (0%)

Where the demand is

Real demand is concentrated in on-site, front-line operations. In the recent local posting sample, about 95% or more of jobs were on-site, about 75% were entry level, and the most-active industries were hospitality at about 40%, restaurants at about 15%, food and beverage at about 10%, retail at about 10%, and food and beverage services at about 10%. That mix favors people who can start quickly in guest-facing or production roles rather than those holding out for remote travel-adjacent work. The employer base is broad rather than dominated by one chain. Houston showed more than 1,200 postings across more than 300 companies over the last 90 days, with a fragmented employer mix led by Starbucks Corp. with more than 100 postings, Compass Group with more than 50, and Landry's, Inc. with more than 50. Venue openings are also creating pockets of demand: Ayla Mediterranean opened inside the InterContinental Houston, Lila's planned a phased fall launch, and The Branch added restaurant service plus private events and buyouts in the Museum District.

• Chain coffee, contract food service, and multi-unit operators (high): This is the clearest volume segment, helped by repeat hiring from Starbucks Corp., Compass Group, and Landry's, Inc., plus the heavy entry-level skew in local postings.
• Hotels and hotel-linked food service (moderate): Hospitality is the single largest local posting cluster at about 40%, and hotel-linked venues such as Ayla Mediterranean inside the InterContinental Houston create demand for front desk, food service, and guest-experience staff.
• Chef-driven restaurants, banquet, and private events (moderate): Openings such as The Branch and phased launches such as Lila's create opportunities for cooks, bartenders, servers, and event-support staff, but these are more timing-sensitive and usually more relationship-driven than chain hiring.

Where to focus: Focus first on repeat-hiring on-site operators, then use that foothold to move into better-paying lead, banquet, or management roles.

Roles worth searching next

• Retail assistant manager: It uses the same mix of customer service, cash handling, staffing, and inventory discipline that shows up in Houston hospitality hiring.
• Customer support specialist: Front-desk, server, and travel-facing workers often already know de-escalation, service recovery, and fast communication.
• Patient access representative: Guest-service and reception skills transfer well into healthcare check-in, scheduling, and front-desk operations.
• Office coordinator or receptionist: Hospitality workers often already manage arrivals, phone traffic, urgency, and presentation standards.

What postings ask for

• Food handler certification (table_stakes | immediate): It is the most commonly named certification in local postings, even though only about 5% explicitly list it, so having it removes an avoidable screen-out. Who: Entry-level candidates, career switchers, and anyone applying to kitchens, counter service, or catering.
• Food safety and sanitation (table_stakes | immediate): Food safety appeared in about 15% of local postings, while sanitation and cleaning each appeared in about 10%. Who: Back-of-house, housekeepers, banquet, and multi-unit service workers.
• Cash handling and point-of-sale workflow (table_stakes | immediate): Cash handling showed up in about 20% of local postings, making it one of the clearest hiring screens for front-of-house and counter roles. Who: Baristas, hosts, front desk staff, servers, and retail-to-hospitality switchers.
• Food preparation and beverage preparation (table_stakes | immediate): Food preparation appeared in about 20% of postings and beverage preparation in about 10%, covering a wide share of cook, bartender, and barista openings. Who: Back-of-house candidates and anyone targeting cafes, bars, quick service, or hotel outlets.
• Inventory management (differentiator | near-term): Inventory management appeared in about 20% of local postings, which helps workers move from hourly execution into shift-lead or kitchen-management tracks. Who: Mid-career applicants, assistant managers, kitchen leads, and ambitious hourly workers.
• Customer service, teamwork, and problem-solving (differentiator | immediate): Customer service appeared in about 15% of local postings, and restaurant-industry research keeps emphasizing teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and guest experience in hiring. Who: Front-of-house, front desk, banquet, and career switchers from retail or other service sectors.

Questions about this market

What do Hospitality, Food Service & Travel roles pay in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

Local government data still shows frontline food-prep and serving pay as modest: Houston's mean hourly wage was $14.70 in May 2025, and the broader occupation family showed a $28,530 median annual wage, $30,570 mean, and a $22,590-to-$43,590 range from the 25th to 90th percentile. Recent local postings look higher because salary-visible roles center on about $65k to $75k and hourly-paid postings center on about $15 to $16 an hour, while Revelio Public Labor Statistics put the mean offered salary on new Texas hospitality openings at about $34,206 in September 2026 (n=2,096). For most cooks, servers, baristas, housekeepers, and counter staff, Houston is a broad-access market but not a high-wage one. The better money sits in management, chef-led kitchens, and operations roles with labor and inventory responsibility.

Where is demand for Hospitality, Food Service & Travel roles in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX concentrated?

Real demand is concentrated in on-site, front-line operations. In the recent local posting sample, about 95% or more of jobs were on-site, about 75% were entry level, and the most-active industries were hospitality at about 40%, restaurants at about 15%, food and beverage at about 10%, retail at about 10%, and food and beverage services at about 10%. That mix favors people who can start quickly in guest-facing or production roles rather than those holding out for remote travel-adjacent work. The employer base is broad rather than dominated by one chain. Houston showed more than 1,200 postings across more than 300 companies over the last 90 days, with a fragmented employer mix led by Starbucks Corp. with more than 100 postings, Compass Group with more than 50, and Landry's, Inc. with more than 50. Venue openings are also creating pockets of demand: Ayla Mediterranean opened inside the InterContinental Houston, Lila's planned a phased fall launch, and The Branch added restaurant service plus private events and buyouts in the Museum District.

Which employers are hiring the most Hospitality, Food Service & Travel talent in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

Recent postings show the most activity from Starbucks Corp. (100 postings), Compass Group (50 postings), Landry's, Inc. (50 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Texas openings by job title

• General Manager: 551 open roles statewide
• Project Manager: 511 open roles statewide
• Branch Manager: 107 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 86 open roles statewide

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