State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Bill and Account Collector Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Bill and Account Collectors is $47,030 a year ($22.61/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to fall 10.5% through 2034, with about 13,700 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
SOC 43-3011Office and Administrative SupportLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $47,030
- Projected growth
- -10.5%
- Openings a year
- 13,700
- Typical education
- High school
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Account Representative, Accounts Receivable Specialist (AR Specialist), Collection Agent, Collection Specialist, Collector, Debt Collector.
How much do Bill and Account Collectors make?
10th percentile$34,400
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$39,010
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$47,030
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$56,740
Upper quartile
90th percentile$65,580
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $47,030 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $22.61/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $49,060 |
| People employed | 158,830 |
Versus all US occupations
At $47,030, Bill and Account Collectors earn 8% below the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $3,950 a year.
Versus office and administrative support occupations
Inside the Office and Administrative Support group, where the middle occupation pays $48,500, this is 3% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $65,580 or more while the bottom 10% earn $34,400, a gap of 1.9×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 21% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
District of Columbia posts the highest raw median ($62,230), but once local prices are taken into account Alaska leads at $59,409 in national-average dollars.
Which states pay Bill and Account Collectors the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $62,230 | $56,624 | 240 |
| Alaska | $60,810 | $59,409 | 310 |
| Massachusetts | $59,800 | $56,545 | 2,510 |
| California | $57,930 | $52,321 | 13,880 |
| Connecticut | $57,930 | $55,912 | 900 |
| Vermont | $57,630 | $58,831 | 80 |
| Hawaii | $53,570 | $48,722 | 180 |
| New Jersey | $52,510 | $48,261 | 3,310 |
| Rhode Island | $52,000 | $50,841 | 370 |
| Oregon | $50,880 | $49,226 | 830 |
Is Bill and Account Collector a growing career?
Bill and Account Collectors-10.5%
All US occupations3.1%
-10.5% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Declining
BLS projects employment of Bill and Account Collectors to change -10.5% over 2024–2034, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.1%. That is 17,500 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 13,700 openings are projected each year, 8.2% of the 166,900 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Continued use of enhanced software and automated calling systems is expected to increase productivity and allow collectors to handle more accounts. This technology will allow more collections work to be done with fewer employees. However, the need to collect various types of debt, including student, credit card, and mortgage debt, should create some demand for bill and account collectors.
How to become a Bill and Account Collector
Bill and account collectors typically need at least a high school diploma to enter the occupation, and they receive training on the job.
| Typical entry-level education | High school diploma or equivalent |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Little or no preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as bill and account collectors.
- High School Diploma48.2%
- Some College Courses27.4%
- Bachelor's Degree21.1%
- Less than a High School Diploma2.3%
- Post-Secondary Certificate1.1%
What does a Bill and Account Collector do?
Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer's account, preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond, initiating repossession proceedings or service disconnection, and keeping records of collection and status of accounts.
Bill and account collectors try to recover payment on overdue bills. They negotiate repayment plans and help people find solutions to make it easier to pay their overdue bills.
Day-to-day tasks
- Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
- Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
- Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
- Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
- Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
- Confer with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts.
- Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
- Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Where bill and account collectors work
| Business support services | 25% |
|---|---|
| Credit intermediation and related activities | 19% |
| Healthcare and social assistance | 11% |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 8% |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 7% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Active Listening3.9/5
- Speaking3.9/5
- Writing3.3/5
- Reading Comprehension3.1/5
- Critical Thinking3.1/5
- Monitoring3.0/5
- Active Learning2.9/5
- Mathematics2.6/5
Transferable skills
- Social Perceptiveness3.4/5
- Persuasion3.4/5
- Negotiation3.0/5
- Service Orientation3.0/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Coordination2.9/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Access software
- Categorization or classification software
- Customer relationship management CRM software
- Data base user interface and query software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Bill and Account Collector?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic2.1
Investigative1.0
Artistic1.0
Socialprimary3.3
Enterprisingprimary4.4
Conventionalprimary7.0
Day to day this is work built around organising, following procedures and working precisely with data, combined with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Bill and Account Collector: frequently asked questions
How much do Bill and Account Collectors make?
Bill and Account Collectors earn a median of $47,030 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 8% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $22.61/hr. The middle half earn between $39,010 and $56,740. The top 10% earn $65,580 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Bill and Account Collector?
No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Bill and Account Collectors. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 48.2% hold high school diploma.
Is Bill and Account Collector a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 10.5% over 2024–2034, a loss of 17,500 jobs (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 13,700 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Bill and Account Collector do?
Bill and account collectors try to recover payment on overdue bills. A core O*NET task: answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Electronic mail software, Enterprise resource planning ERP software.
Which states pay Bill and Account Collectors the most?
The highest state medians for Bill and Account Collectors are District of Columbia ($62,230), Alaska ($60,810), Massachusetts ($59,800) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Alaska moves to the top at $59,409.
What personality type suits a Bill and Account Collector?
O*NET scores Bill and Account Collectors highest on the Conventional, Enterprising and Social interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESTJ, ESFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.