Labor Market Pulse

Wichita Falls, TX Metro Edition

Focus: RESTAURANT

Wichita Falls restaurant pay falls as the local labor market shrinks.

4.5%

Metro unemployment rate

vs 4.0% Texas, 4.1% national (Aug 2026)

-1.2% YoY

Metro nonfarm employment change

One of only two contracting TX metros

65%

TX restaurants reporting understaffing

Despite metro-level pay declines

673,000

National accommodation/food svc openings

Down from 916,000 in Jan 2026

This Month's Takeaways

01

Server pay is falling locally while holding steady nationally.

Metro median Server pay dropped moderately to $27,265 against a stable $35,012 national figure — a widening gap unusual during a period of regional employment contraction. Operators testing lower advertised rates should watch fill-time and offer-acceptance closely before assuming the softer labor market fully supports the pullback.

02

Assistant Manager pay cuts outpace the broader market slide.

Metro Assistant Restaurant Manager pay fell significantly to $33,298, a wider decline than the national moderate drop to $39,000. Layered onto a metro that lost 700 net jobs over the year, this looks less like market correction and more like operators reducing management investment during a contraction — a risk to bench strength when hiring rebounds.

03

Hourly BOH roles show unusual stability amid metro-wide softness.

Line Cook and Crew pay held stable locally and nationally despite the metro's broader employment contraction, suggesting these roles remain difficult to backfill even when overall labor demand weakens. Current conditions suggest treating BOH pay as a floor to protect rather than a target for savings.

04

Statewide understaffing data doesn't match local pay retrenchment.

Texas operators report 65% understaffing and full-service restaurants remain 183,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels statewide, yet Wichita Falls advertised pay for Server, Assistant Manager, and GM roles all moved down this month. Local operators may be relying on the metro's weaker job market to recruit without matching statewide wage urgency — a stance worth testing against actual applicant flow.

Local Labor Conditions

Wichita Falls MSA employment contracted 1.2% year-over-year through August 2026 — one of only two shrinking Texas metros — while the area unemployment rate climbed to 4.5%, running well above the state's 4.0% reading. Restaurant hiring sits inside a shrinking labor pool even as statewide leisure/hospitality payrolls added 4,900 jobs in August, meaning local operators compete against a smaller candidate base than peer metros.

Leadership & Talent Implications

Metro-wide softening employment typically eases labor-cost pressure, but local advertised pay tells a different story — Server pay down moderately to $27,265 and Assistant Manager pay down significantly to $33,298 metro-median, both trailing national figures by wide margins, suggesting employers are pulling back on posted rates even as Texas hospitality reports 65% of operators understaffed statewide. This divergence between a contracting labor market and falling advertised pay may signal operators testing whether a tighter local supply lets them hold the line on wage growth without losing fill rates. Consider reviewing whether current advertised rates for FOH roles still clear the market, given Sheppard Air Force Base and distribution employers like UPS and WinCo compete for the same hourly labor pool.

Advertised Pay Indicators

Role	P25	Median	P75	Local Trend	National	Nat. Trend
Assistant Restaurant Manager	$22,865	$33,298	$35,360	↓ Significant decline	$39,000	↓ Moderate decline
Catering Manager	—	—	—	— No data	$50,960	→ Stable
Crew	$22,468	$24,826	$27,774	→ Stable	$29,839	→ Stable
Line Cook	$24,960	$28,432	$30,788	→ Stable	$36,826	→ Stable
Restaurant Manager/General Manager	$45,326	$52,091	$55,000	↓ Moderate decline	$59,618	↓ Moderate decline
Server	$24,960	$27,265	$31,403	↓ Moderate decline	$35,012	→ Stable
Shift Manager	$24,541	$28,807	$29,747	→ Stable	$32,731	→ Stable

Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days

Worth watching

Wichita Falls unemployment has risen from 4.7% in June to a preliminary 4.5% in August against a declining nonfarm employment base — watch whether this reflects labor force exit rather than genuine slack, which would limit any hiring advantage from the softer headline rate.

Emerging pressure point

Assistant Manager and GM advertised pay fell significantly this month even as Texas hospitality statewide reports acute understaffing; a continued local-state divergence could force a correction in advertised management pay within the next hiring cycle.

Early indicator

Howmet Aerospace and other manufacturers advertising foundry and operator roles locally compete directly with restaurants for the same hourly labor pool — monitor whether aerospace-sector hiring in Wichita Falls accelerates and pulls BOH candidates further from food service.

Potential inflection point

National accommodation and food service job openings fell from 916,000 to 673,000 through July, easing competition for workers industry-wide; watch whether this national cooling reaches Wichita Falls or whether the metro's already-contracting labor market means local tightness persists regardless.

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