Median pay for customer services runs from $23,610 in Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area to $60,480 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara — a 2.56× range across 527 metropolitan areas. The national median of $44,770 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Ten per cent of customer services earn below $31,750 and ten per cent above $63,590 — a 2× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 42%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
6 of the ten best-paying metros for customer services are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $60,480 | $29.08 | 0.47 | 8,860 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $57,830 | $27.80 | 0.5 | 19,930 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $53,550 | $25.75 | 0.74 | 25,840 |
| Napa CA | $53,360 | $25.65 | 0.49 | 640 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $51,810 | $24.91 | 0.51 | 1,750 |
| Vallejo CA | $51,210 | $24.62 | 0.47 | 1,130 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $50,800 | $24.43 | 0.41 | 720 |
| East North Dakota nonmetropolitan area | $50,420 | $24.24 | 0.51 | 540 |
| Burlington-South Burlington VT | $50,160 | $24.12 | 0.62 | 1,250 |
| Stockton-Lodi CA | $49,990 | $24.03 | 0.55 | 2,650 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | $49,970 | $24.02 | 0.84 | 5,660 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $49,940 | $24.01 | 0.64 | 11,510 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $49,920 | $24.00 | 0.84 | 37,780 |
| Kahului-Wailuku HI | $49,750 | $23.92 | 0.56 | 690 |
| Manchester-Nashua NH | $49,630 | $23.86 | 1.4 | 4,680 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $49,630 | $23.86 | 0.66 | 1,430 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $49,590 | $23.84 | 0.79 | 125,570 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $49,480 | $23.79 | 1.19 | 38,630 |
| Longview-Kelso WA | $49,460 | $23.78 | 0.55 | 380 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA | $49,190 | $23.65 | 0.53 | 2,860 |
| Yuba City CA | $49,170 | $23.64 | 0.56 | 480 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes WA | $49,160 | $23.63 | 0.46 | 400 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $49,080 | $23.59 | 0.4 | 1,350 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines IA | $48,880 | $23.50 | 1.79 | 12,070 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $48,840 | $23.48 | 0.64 | 66,590 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area | $23,610 | $11.35 | 0.53 | 260 |
| Guayama PR | $25,520 | $12.27 | 0.69 | 140 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $26,520 | $12.75 | 1.38 | 15,940 |
| Ponce PR | $26,810 | $12.89 | 0.85 | 900 |
| Mayaguez PR | $26,920 | $12.94 | 1.22 | 1,060 |
| Arecibo PR | $27,030 | $13.00 | 1.29 | 750 |
| Aguadilla PR | $27,800 | $13.36 | 1.21 | 980 |
| Border Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area | $31,790 | $15.28 | 0.98 | 770 |
| Albany GA | $33,190 | $15.96 | 1.52 | 1,480 |
| Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $33,870 | $16.28 | 0.47 | 490 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene TX | $36,830 | $17.71 | 2.03 | 2,550 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray UT | $45,410 | $21.83 | 1.93 | 26,620 |
| Dubuque IA | $46,670 | $22.44 | 1.92 | 1,880 |
| El Paso TX | $37,640 | $18.10 | 1.89 | 10,680 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen TX | $38,350 | $18.44 | 1.86 | 4,880 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels TX | $42,720 | $20.54 | 1.85 | 34,730 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines IA | $48,880 | $23.50 | 1.79 | 12,070 |
| Pocatello ID | $37,940 | $18.24 | 1.78 | 1,130 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $46,410 | $22.31 | 1.74 | 68,930 |
| Saginaw MI | $36,150 | $17.38 | 1.73 | 2,320 |
| Sumter SC | $39,100 | $18.80 | 1.71 | 990 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX | $35,830 | $17.23 | 1.67 | 8,270 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $49,590 | $23.84 | 0.79 | 125,570 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $44,990 | $21.63 | 1.43 | 96,930 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $47,100 | $22.65 | 1 | 75,240 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $46,410 | $22.31 | 1.74 | 68,930 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $48,840 | $23.48 | 0.64 | 66,590 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $40,380 | $19.42 | 1.19 | 65,510 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $39,560 | $19.02 | 1.35 | 63,440 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $42,710 | $20.54 | 1.24 | 59,990 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $47,070 | $22.63 | 0.86 | 41,740 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $49,480 | $23.79 | 1.19 | 38,630 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $49,920 | $24.00 | 0.84 | 37,780 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $46,220 | $22.22 | 0.7 | 36,750 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 43-4051. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 527 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.