The Average Weekly Income for Delivering Pizzas
When you're just too exhausted to cook or are dying for something warm and delicious, calling your local pizza joint sometimes is a solution. When you order a pizza, the pizza shop sends out a delivery driver to bring your pizza to you. The basic rates of pay for these drivers unfortunately hovers around minimum wage, making pizza delivery workers some of the lowest-paid individuals in the food services industry.
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Average Salary
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Pizza delivery workers make an annual salary of $19,000 as of March 2011, according to the SimplyHired website. The Bureau of Labor Statistics usually calculates annual salaries by multiplying hourly rates by an assumed 2,080 work hours. Using the bureau's formula, the $19,000 figure from SimplyHired thus translates into about $9.13 per hour. Assuming a full 40 hour week, pizza delivery drivers make $365.40 weekly. Many delivery workers work part time, though, therefore needing higher hourly wages to make this amount.
Comparison to Other Non-Restaurant Servers
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics includes pizza delivery workers among non-restaurant servers. Those in the lowest 10th percentile of this industry make $15,530 a year, or $7.46 per hour. This is just above the 2011 federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25. The average annual salary is $21,620, or $10.39 an hour. Top earners max out at $30,690 yearly, or $14.75 an hour. The annual figure from SimplyHired is comparable to these rates, but suggests that pizza delivery personnel make less than the industry average for non-restaurant servers overall.
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Why Rates Are Low
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Wages for pizza delivery workers are low primarily because many pizza shops consider their drivers in the same category with waitresses and other servers. Employers don't always have to pay these workers federal minimum wage, because the law allows employers to pay below minimum wage if the job affords regular tips that make up the difference. Employers are supposed to make up the difference when tips don't bring rates up to minimum wage.
Considerations
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Even when an employer pays a pizza delivery worker at least minimum wage before tips, pizza delivery drivers usually have to pay for most of their own gas. They also have to cover maintenance and repairs to the vehicle they use, as most pizza shops don't purchase company vehicles, requiring that drivers use their own vehicles. Some insurance companies charge higher premiums for workers in driving professions, and employers usually don't take this into wage consideration, either. Some pizza shop owners are compensating so poorly their drivers are fighting back with lawsuits, according to the Legal Aid Society.
A final consideration is that pizza delivery work can be dangerous. Workers sometimes are robbed, particularly in bad neighborhoods where crime runs rampant. In some instances, the risks involved with the position simply are not worth the low wages provided.
For these reasons, pizza delivery personnel have a high turnover rate. It is rare for someone to stay in the field long enough to receive better pay and additional benefits. The job can be suitable as a temporary position, and the need for drivers likely will not decrease.
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References
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