Median pay for office clerks runs from $22,020 in Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area to $59,840 in Boulder — a 2.72× range across 526 metropolitan areas. The national median of $45,010 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Ten per cent of office clerks earn below $30,310 and ten per cent above $64,680 — a 2.13× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 44%, 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.
Boulder (CO) leads and Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area () trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder CO | $59,840 | $28.77 | 0.49 | 1,510 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $58,840 | $28.29 | 0.75 | 13,470 |
| Greeley CO | $56,030 | $26.94 | 0.83 | 1,570 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland CO | $55,960 | $26.90 | 0.76 | 2,030 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $55,620 | $26.74 | 1.14 | 3,630 |
| Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $54,900 | $26.40 | 0.94 | 1,610 |
| West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area | $54,080 | $26.00 | 1.45 | 2,010 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $53,990 | $25.96 | 0.64 | 16,320 |
| Anchorage AK | $53,550 | $25.75 | 0.69 | 1,920 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $53,290 | $25.62 | 0.83 | 27,460 |
| Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $52,920 | $25.44 | 0.94 | 1,970 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton MA | $52,190 | $25.09 | 1.35 | 1,400 |
| Napa CA | $52,000 | $25.00 | 1 | 1,230 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $52,000 | $25.00 | 1 | 37,590 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $51,880 | $24.94 | 0.79 | 39,410 |
| Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area | $51,860 | $24.93 | 1.21 | 800 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $51,780 | $24.90 | 1.03 | 3,350 |
| Grand Junction CO | $51,680 | $24.85 | 0.84 | 890 |
| Bozeman MT | $50,800 | $24.43 | 1.21 | 1,390 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $50,710 | $24.38 | 0.8 | 34,480 |
| Pueblo CO | $50,670 | $24.36 | 0.67 | 660 |
| Salem OR | $50,650 | $24.35 | 1.06 | 3,160 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $50,640 | $24.35 | 0.83 | 15,920 |
| Bismarck ND | $50,400 | $24.23 | 1.3 | 1,470 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes WA | $50,170 | $24.12 | 0.86 | 720 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area | $22,020 | $10.59 | 1.5 | 700 |
| Mayaguez PR | $22,120 | $10.64 | 1.58 | 1,310 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area | $22,200 | $10.67 | 0.09 | 540 |
| Aguadilla PR | $22,240 | $10.69 | 1.42 | 1,100 |
| Guayama PR | $22,600 | $10.86 | 1.38 | 270 |
| Ponce PR | $23,070 | $11.09 | 1.55 | 1,560 |
| Arecibo PR | $23,090 | $11.10 | 1.39 | 760 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $24,580 | $11.82 | 1.31 | 14,400 |
| Dothan AL | $27,180 | $13.07 | 0.43 | 420 |
| Daphne-Fairhope-Foley AL | $27,430 | $13.19 | 0.41 | 560 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $41,040 | $19.73 | 2.15 | 3,360 |
| Lubbock TX | $36,940 | $17.76 | 2.06 | 5,440 |
| Lewiston ID-WA | $43,430 | $20.88 | 1.84 | 840 |
| St. George UT | $44,880 | $21.58 | 1.78 | 2,560 |
| Southeast-Central Idaho nonmetropolitan area | $42,950 | $20.65 | 1.7 | 2,600 |
| Casper WY | $42,810 | $20.58 | 1.63 | 1,040 |
| Lawton OK | $35,370 | $17.01 | 1.6 | 1,090 |
| Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | $44,190 | $21.24 | 1.59 | 2,150 |
| Mayaguez PR | $22,120 | $10.64 | 1.58 | 1,310 |
| Ann Arbor MI | $38,350 | $18.44 | 1.57 | 5,460 |
| Northwestern Idaho nonmetropolitan area | $43,630 | $20.98 | 1.56 | 1,870 |
| Sebring FL | $39,340 | $18.91 | 1.55 | 690 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $47,670 | $22.92 | 0.91 | 136,580 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $48,100 | $23.13 | 1.13 | 112,270 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $46,330 | $22.28 | 0.93 | 66,840 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $44,730 | $21.51 | 1.37 | 61,160 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $44,060 | $21.18 | 0.82 | 52,740 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $40,370 | $19.41 | 0.96 | 50,040 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $47,060 | $22.62 | 0.99 | 45,660 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $43,330 | $20.83 | 0.89 | 40,710 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $51,880 | $24.94 | 0.79 | 39,410 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $52,000 | $25.00 | 1 | 37,590 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $48,790 | $23.46 | 1.15 | 35,610 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MI | $45,810 | $22.02 | 1.14 | 34,570 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 43-9061. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 526 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.