What an office clerk costs in 65 US cities
US median pay is $45,010 a year, about $64,300 all in with benefits and payroll taxes. Here’s the cost in every large metro area.
An office clerk costs a median of $45,010 a year in the US, or about $64,300 a year ($5,360 a month) once benefits and employer payroll taxes are added. Pay ranges from $58,840 in San Jose, CA to $32,520 in Baton Rouge, LA. Filling the seat takes a median of 39 days.
Office Clerk cost by metro area
| Metro area | Median pay (a year) | All-in estimate (a year) | All-in (a month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $45,010 | $64,300 | $5,360 |
| San Jose, CA | $58,840 | $84,100 | $7,000 |
| Denver, CO | $53,990 | $77,100 | $6,430 |
| Seattle, WA | $53,290 | $76,100 | $6,340 |
| San Francisco, CA | $52,000 | $74,300 | $6,190 |
| Washington, DC | $51,880 | $74,100 | $6,180 |
| Boston, MA | $50,710 | $72,400 | $6,040 |
| Portland, OR | $50,640 | $72,300 | $6,030 |
| San Diego, CA | $49,920 | $71,300 | $5,940 |
| Sacramento, CA | $48,940 | $69,900 | $5,830 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $48,790 | $69,700 | $5,810 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $48,100 | $68,700 | $5,730 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $47,680 | $68,100 | $5,680 |
| New York, NY | $47,670 | $68,100 | $5,680 |
| Providence, RI | $47,450 | $67,800 | $5,650 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $47,060 | $67,200 | $5,600 |
| Chicago, IL | $46,330 | $66,200 | $5,520 |
| Richmond, VA | $46,320 | $66,200 | $5,510 |
| Riverside, CA | $46,270 | $66,100 | $5,510 |
| Baltimore, MD | $46,250 | $66,100 | $5,510 |
| Fresno, CA | $46,070 | $65,800 | $5,480 |
| Buffalo, NY | $46,040 | $65,800 | $5,480 |
| Albany, NY | $46,010 | $65,700 | $5,480 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $45,930 | $65,600 | $5,470 |
| Boise, ID | $45,860 | $65,500 | $5,460 |
| Detroit, MI | $45,810 | $65,400 | $5,450 |
| Kansas City, MO | $45,640 | $65,200 | $5,430 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $45,440 | $64,900 | $5,410 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $45,320 | $64,700 | $5,400 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $45,220 | $64,600 | $5,380 |
| Allentown, PA | $45,190 | $64,600 | $5,380 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $45,040 | $64,300 | $5,360 |
| St. Louis, MO | $44,980 | $64,300 | $5,350 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $44,880 | $64,100 | $5,340 |
| Austin, TX | $44,870 | $64,100 | $5,340 |
| Columbus, OH | $44,830 | $64,000 | $5,340 |
| Cleveland, OH | $44,790 | $64,000 | $5,330 |
| Miami, FL | $44,730 | $63,900 | $5,330 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $44,640 | $63,800 | $5,310 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $44,630 | $63,800 | $5,310 |
| Raleigh, NC | $44,460 | $63,500 | $5,290 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | $44,060 | $62,900 | $5,250 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $44,040 | $62,900 | $5,240 |
| Charlotte, NC | $44,010 | $62,900 | $5,240 |
| Tucson, AZ | $43,920 | $62,700 | $5,230 |
| Nashville, TN | $43,860 | $62,700 | $5,220 |
| Orlando, FL | $43,740 | $62,500 | $5,210 |
| Atlanta, GA | $43,330 | $61,900 | $5,160 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $43,160 | $61,700 | $5,140 |
| Rochester, NY | $42,230 | $60,300 | $5,030 |
| Honolulu, HI | $41,600 | $59,400 | $4,950 |
| Louisville, KY | $41,290 | $59,000 | $4,920 |
| Tulsa, OK | $40,380 | $57,700 | $4,810 |
| Houston, TX | $40,370 | $57,700 | $4,810 |
| Omaha, NE | $39,690 | $56,700 | $4,730 |
| Charleston, SC | $39,250 | $56,100 | $4,670 |
| San Antonio, TX | $38,860 | $55,500 | $4,630 |
| Memphis, TN | $38,610 | $55,200 | $4,600 |
| Columbia, SC | $38,320 | $54,700 | $4,560 |
| Knoxville, TN | $37,920 | $54,200 | $4,510 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $37,850 | $54,100 | $4,510 |
| Albuquerque, NM | $37,000 | $52,900 | $4,400 |
| Greenville, SC | $36,030 | $51,500 | $4,290 |
| El Paso, TX | $34,380 | $49,100 | $4,090 |
| New Orleans, LA | $33,860 | $48,400 | $4,030 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $32,520 | $46,500 | $3,870 |
An experienced hire usually costs more than the median. The all-in estimate leaves out recruiting, training, software seats and cover for sick days and leave.
What an office clerk does
- Update records, spreadsheets and customer files
- Process routine forms and paperwork
- Answer routine emails and route the rest
- Prepare mailings, invoices and documents
- Keep shared files and folders organised
The alternative to hiring
Dull takes on office admin work in the tools you already use. A person reviews every exception, and anything involving money or judgment waits for your approval. It’s a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call, month to month with no contract, and usually live in about a week instead of 39 days to hire.
An alternative to hiring office admin staff
How we worked these out
- Median pay is the May 2025 median annual wage for “Office Clerks, General” from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (BLS OEWS), for each metropolitan area and the US as a whole, pulled from the BLS public data API. Half of workers earn more and half earn less.
- All-in estimate adds benefits and employer payroll taxes: wages are 70.0% of total compensation for private-industry workers (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026), so all-in = median ÷ 0.70. It doesn’t include recruiting, training, equipment or office space.
- Time to fill is the median of 39 days from SHRM’s recruiting benchmarks.
- Figures are rounded. Metro areas are the 65 largest US metropolitan statistical areas with published data for every role on our cost pages.
Frequently asked questions
The US median pay for office clerks, general was $45,010 a year in May 2025 (BLS). With benefits and employer payroll taxes the all-in cost is about $64,300 a year, or $5,360 a month, before recruiting and training.
Of the 65 largest US metro areas, San Jose, CA has the highest median pay at $58,840 a year (31% above the US median). Baton Rouge, LA has the lowest at $32,520.
A median of 39 days to fill an opening (SHRM), before training. While the seat is empty the work usually falls to the owner or the strongest person on the team.
Yes. Dull is a done-for-you back-office service that takes on office admin work in the tools you already use, with a person reviewing every exception. It’s a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call, month to month with no contract, and usually live in about a week.
Median pay is from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). The all-in estimate divides it by 0.70, because wages are 70.0% of total compensation for private-industry workers (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026).