Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

43-9061 Office Clerks, General

Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, stenography, office machine operation, and filing.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
2,967,620 0.4 % $16.30 $33,910 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.55 $11.55 $15.14 $19.46 $24.80
Annual Wage (2) $19,870 $24,020 $31,500 $40,480 $51,590


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 175,720 3.22 $17.23 $35,840
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 159,060 5.27 $15.03 $31,270
Employment Services 144,670 4.03 $14.88 $30,950
Elementary and Secondary Schools 118,570 1.40 $15.77 $32,800
Real Estate 99,290 6.31 $15.87 $33,010

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Office Administrative Services 35,020 7.11 $16.25 $33,800
Other Investment Pools and Funds 500 6.97 $15.91 $33,090
Death Care Services 8,650 6.32 $14.61 $30,390
Real Estate 99,290 6.31 $15.87 $33,010
Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds 260 5.90 $18.29 $38,050

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution 2,540 2.26 $29.26 $60,850
Postal Service (federal government) 1,220 0.19 $27.82 $57,870
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 4,980 1.28 $21.40 $44,510
Support Activities for Water Transportation 1,250 1.38 $21.31 $44,320
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 490 1.70 $20.74 $43,150


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Texas 355,300 29.88 1.44 $16.88 $35,110
California 320,800 19.22 0.92 $17.43 $36,240
New York 187,360 20.35 0.98 $16.28 $33,860
Florida 176,520 20.97 1.01 $14.98 $31,160
Pennsylvania 154,400 26.70 1.28 $16.29 $33,880




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Virginia 21,950 31.87 1.53 $13.52 $28,120
Texas 355,300 29.88 1.44 $16.88 $35,110
Montana 13,600 29.51 1.42 $15.32 $31,870
Wyoming 7,210 26.89 1.29 $16.81 $34,970
Pennsylvania 154,400 26.70 1.28 $16.29 $33,880




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 6,680 21.01 1.01 $23.17 $48,200
District of Columbia 9,580 13.53 0.65 $20.97 $43,610
Colorado 44,300 17.34 0.83 $18.69 $38,880
Massachusetts 60,620 17.18 0.83 $18.68 $38,860
Washington 70,440 22.11 1.06 $18.51 $38,510



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Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 139,460 20.83 1.00 $16.57 $34,460
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 95,500 26.08 1.25 $18.20 $37,860
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 90,930 20.52 0.99 $16.65 $34,630
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 81,930 27.97 1.34 $18.68 $38,860
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 72,200 28.98 1.39 $17.18 $35,730
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 45,640 17.42 0.84 $14.70 $30,570
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 45,360 18.00 0.86 $19.40 $40,350
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 36,850 19.07 0.92 $17.91 $37,250
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 33,890 17.12 0.82 $17.50 $36,390
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 32,930 19.99 0.96 $19.73 $41,030


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Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
State College, PA 2,750 39.61 1.90 $15.85 $32,970
Lawton, OK 1,700 39.44 1.89 $12.67 $26,350
Laredo, TX 3,840 39.38 1.89 $13.89 $28,890
Charleston, WV 4,130 37.19 1.79 $14.59 $30,350
Midland, TX 3,240 36.67 1.76 $19.66 $40,890
Champaign-Urbana, IL 3,600 36.38 1.75 $17.01 $35,370
Carbondale-Marion, IL 1,900 36.24 1.74 $14.77 $30,710
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 5,020 35.95 1.73 $13.02 $27,080
Missoula, MT 2,090 35.13 1.69 $13.88 $28,870
Springfield, IL 3,670 34.38 1.65 $16.77 $34,870


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Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Anchorage, AK 3,610 20.84 1.00 $23.29 $48,440
Fairbanks, AK 840 22.84 1.10 $23.22 $48,300
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 19,930 18.30 0.88 $22.21 $46,190
Carson City, NV 700 24.87 1.19 $21.46 $44,630
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 16,060 14.39 0.69 $20.99 $43,660
San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division 1,710 14.89 0.72 $20.64 $42,930
Odessa, TX 2,120 31.01 1.49 $20.62 $42,880
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 28,470 15.48 0.74 $19.95 $41,490
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 32,930 19.99 0.96 $19.73 $41,030
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 23,200 16.08 0.77 $19.71 $41,000

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 8,290 30.78 1.48 $15.72 $32,700
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 6,320 22.71 1.09 $16.13 $33,550
West Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 6,150 32.18 1.55 $15.56 $32,360
Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 5,960 30.91 1.48 $15.37 $31,970
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 5,950 17.93 0.86 $14.09 $29,310

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area 2,940 39.73 1.91 $12.12 $25,200
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 4,620 34.21 1.64 $15.39 $32,010
East Montana nonmetropolitan area 1,110 33.84 1.63 $16.04 $33,360
Big Thicket Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 3,420 32.53 1.56 $14.96 $31,120
West Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 6,150 32.18 1.55 $15.56 $32,360

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 1,390 19.59 0.94 $23.54 $48,960
Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area 800 22.95 1.10 $21.57 $44,870
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 2,080 17.85 0.86 $20.58 $42,810
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 320 17.98 0.86 $20.57 $42,780
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 240 17.20 0.83 $18.83 $39,180


About May 2017 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2018