Office and Administrative Support · SOC 43-9061

Office Clerks, General Salary (2024) — Pay by Metro Area

Office Clerks, General earn a national median of $43,630 per year. Because pay tracks local labour markets, the same job ranges from $38,040 in the cheapest metro covered to $58,920 in the most expensive — a 55% gap for identical work. This page ranks 25 metro areas with released data.

US national median
$43,630
2,510,550 workers nationwide
Highest-paying metro
New York, NY
$46,930 median
Lowest-paying metro
Baltimore, MD
$44,600 median
Metro spread
$20,880
between best and worst metro

Office Clerks, General pay by metro area

Ranked by median annual wage among the metro areas with published estimates for this occupation. Local cost of living is not applied — a lower median in a cheaper metro can still leave more in your pocket.

Median hourly and annual wage for Office Clerks, General by metro area, 2024. Hourly shown as annual ÷ 2,080.
Metro area Hourly Annual Employment
New York, NY — NY $22.56 $46,930 137,660
Los Angeles, CA — CA $22.68 $47,180 111,440
Chicago, IL — IL $21.85 $45,450 74,130
Miami, FL — FL $21.18 $44,050 55,110
Philadelphia, PA — PA $22.13 $46,020 51,570
Dallas, TX — TX $20.09 $41,790 49,410
Houston, TX — TX $18.29 $38,040 45,420
Atlanta, GA — GA $20.18 $41,980 43,990
Washington, DC — DC $24.65 $51,270 41,220
Detroit, MI — MI $21.94 $45,640 36,070
Minneapolis, MN — MN $23.01 $47,860 35,890
San Francisco, CA — CA $26.82 $55,790 35,750
Boston, MA — MA $23.88 $49,670 35,480
Phoenix, AZ — AZ $22.81 $47,440 34,690
San Diego, CA — CA $23.54 $48,970 28,550
Tampa, FL — FL $21.17 $44,040 26,860
Riverside, CA — CA $21.95 $45,650 25,970
Seattle, WA — WA $25.79 $53,640 25,540
St. Louis, MO — MO $20.67 $43,000 25,260
Orlando, FL — FL $19.89 $41,370 23,140
Charlotte, NC — NC $19.71 $41,000 17,070
Portland, OR — OR $24.15 $50,230 15,920
Austin, TX — TX $20.36 $42,340 15,350
Denver, CO — CO $28.33 $58,920 14,430
Baltimore, MD — MD $21.44 $44,600 10,860
What the spread means

The gap between New York, NY ($46,930) and Baltimore, MD ($44,600) is 5% . For office clerks, general this mainly reflects industry mix and regional price levels rather than a difference in the work itself. The middle metro sits at $45,650, which is the better single number for a "typical" market than either extreme.

Frequently asked questions

How much do office clerks, general make in the United States?

The national median for this occupation is $43,630 per year, across all areas including non-metropolitan ones. Metro-level medians for this occupation range from $38,040 to $58,920, with a middle value of $45,650.

Which metro area pays office clerks, general the most?

New York, NY pays the most among the metros covered, at a median of $46,930, with about 137,660 people employed in the occupation.

Which metro area pays office clerks, general the least?

Baltimore, MD sits at the bottom of the range, with a median of $44,600.

Do office clerks, general earn more in large cities?

Usually, but not always. Large metros tend to show higher nominal pay because they concentrate high-wage industries and a higher cost of living. The spread above is nominal — it is not adjusted for local prices, so a lower median in a cheaper metro can still buy more.

About these figures

Method and limits

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024. The US figure on this page is an employment-weighted benchmark computed across the metro areas covered by this site, not the official national OEWS median, which BLS publishes separately. OEWS excludes self-employed workers and reports wages only, not benefits or total compensation.

See the methodology for how the benchmark and the metro ranking are derived.

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