Waiting tables is a demanding job that requires focus, stamina and the ability to smile and be polite, even when having a bad day or working with an unhappy customer.  But for local servers, the job choice pays off:   Washington's waiters and waitresses make more money than most of their counterparts around the country.

With an hourly mean wage of $13.40 and an annual mean wage of $27,870, Washington servers rank fourth on a May 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics tally, trailing only Massachusetts, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

One reason servers make more money in Washington has to do with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows each state to determine if its servers will receive the minimum wage in addition to tips, or a decreased wage that when, combined with tips, equals the minimum wage. The lowest allowable amount required by law is $2.13 per hour, with several states, including Texas, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, using this as servers' base pay.

But Washington, in addition to Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada and Oregon, does not allow for the so-called "tip credit," so its servers make at least minimum wage plus whatever tips they earn. And with the minimum wage in Washington currently at $8.67 per hour (and set to go up to $9.04 on Jan. 1, making it one of the highest minimum wages in the country), the more than 40,500 servers in the state have ample opportunity to earn a living.

Another reason servers earn more in Washington is that customers in the Pacific Northwest are just good tippers, said Jacob Rose, Marketing and Social Media manager for the Pacific Grill in Tacoma. Though many diners around the country adhere to the "15-percent" scale for service, Washingtonians tend to tip based on a "double-the-tax" rate instead, Rose said. So with a tax rate of about 9-percent, the average tip here is about 18 percent, he said, and servers at an upscale eatery like the Pacific Grill can earn more than $200 per night.

The Pacific Grill (1502 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma) debuted its new fall menu this week and offers happy hour prices all day in the bar. Open for lunch Mondays to Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner hours are Mondays to Thursdays, 5 to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, 5 to 9:30 p.m. Closed on Sundays. For more information, visit www.pacificgrilltacoma.com or call (253) 627-3535.