Labor Market Pulse

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metro Edition

Focus: RESTAURANT

Quad-Cities management pay slips as national restaurant hiring surges.

$58,678

Restaurant Manager/GM pay

Down significantly; below $59,762 national median

~3.0%

Scott County, IA unemployment

vs 3.7% Rock Island County, IL

+59,200 jobs

National restaurant job growth

Largest one-month gain since January 2023

+4.2% y/y

Scott County wage growth

Largest gain among large Iowa counties, Q3 2025

This Month's Takeaways

01

Management pay is falling while national restaurant hiring surges.

Restaurant Manager/GM advertised pay dropped a significant margin locally to $58,678, moving opposite the national restaurant employment gain of 59,200 jobs in August. That divergence suggests Quad-Cities operators may be filling management vacancies through internal promotion rather than external hires, which changes how leaders should benchmark this role.

02

Assistant Manager pay is climbing while GM pay retreats.

Assistant Restaurant Manager advertised pay rose to a metro median of $42,995, well above the $39,000 national figure, even as the GM role above it declined. Consider whether this compression is intentional — building a deeper bench before promotion — or an unplanned signal that GM roles are harder to differentiate on pay.

03

Two counties, two labor markets, one staffing footprint.

Scott County, Iowa unemployment near 3% contrasts with Rock Island County, Illinois at 3.7% and statewide Illinois conditions closer to 4.7%. Multi-unit operators spanning both sides of the river may need location-specific pay tables rather than a single metro-wide rate card.

04

Front-of-house pay floors are stable here but rising elsewhere.

Server and Crew advertised pay held flat locally at $31,200 even as tip-credit elimination spreads to seven states and Chicago's tipped cash wage climbs toward $13.94 under its One Fair Wage phase-in. Illinois-side Quad-Cities locations should watch whether that statewide policy direction eventually reaches downstate wage floors.

Local Labor Conditions

Quad-Cities restaurant hiring is playing out against a metro labor market where Iowa-side unemployment (Scott County near 3%) sits well below Illinois-side conditions (Rock Island County at 3.7%, statewide Illinois at 4.7%), forcing operators on both banks of the river to run effectively two different labor strategies for the same trade area. National restaurant payrolls posted their largest one-month jump since January 2023 in August, but local Restaurant Manager and Shift Manager advertised pay both moved down, suggesting Quad-Cities operators are adding shifts and hours faster than they're raising management pay to fill them.

Leadership & Talent Implications

Falling advertised pay for Restaurant Manager/GM and Shift Manager roles amid a national hiring surge is consistent with employers leaning on internal promotion and scheduling efficiency rather than external recruitment to fill management gaps — a signal that retention economics, not just wage competitiveness, now drive labor cost control here. With Scott County wages up 4.2% year-over-year but concentrated outside food service, cross-border commuting between Iowa and Illinois locations remains a live risk for both hourly and management staffing. Consider reviewing whether management pay compression is masking a retention gap rather than reflecting genuine slack in the local manager candidate pool.

Advertised Pay Indicators

Role	P25	Median	P75	Local Trend	National	Nat. Trend
Assistant Restaurant Manager	$34,326	$42,995	$46,800	↑ Significant increase	$39,000	↓ Moderate decline
Catering Manager	$40,170	$55,546	$60,535	→ Stable	$51,585	→ Stable
Crew	$25,804	$31,200	$31,200	→ Stable	$29,791	→ Stable
Line Cook	$30,890	$34,424	$36,944	→ Stable	$36,702	→ Stable
Restaurant Manager/General Manager	$49,000	$58,678	$75,000	↓ Significant decline	$59,762	↓ Moderate decline
Server	$27,326	$31,200	$34,053	→ Stable	$34,915	→ Stable
Shift Manager	$28,194	$32,635	$34,320	↓ Moderate decline	$32,649	→ Stable

Some roles reflect state-level data where local metro sample size was insufficient.

Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days

Worth watching

Illinois' One Fair Wage tip-credit phase-down is a Chicago-specific policy for now, but the trajectory toward eliminating tip credit statewide bears monitoring for any Rock Island or Moline-side ordinance activity.

Early indicator

National full-service restaurant employment remains 3.6% below pre-pandemic levels while QSR/casual segments add jobs freely — watch whether Quad-Cities full-service operators report longer back-of-house vacancy durations than counter-service concepts locally.

Emerging pressure point

Scott County's 4.2% wage growth outpaced most large Iowa counties in the most recent data, concentrated outside food service — a signal that restaurant employers may need to raise entry-level pay simply to stay competitive with warehousing and manufacturing across the river valley.

Potential inflection point

August 2026 MSA-specific unemployment data has not yet published; the next BLS release should clarify whether the metro's improving year-over-year trend (last seen at 5.1% in December 2025) has continued into late summer hiring season.

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