Pay by state · 51 areas
Court, Municipal, and License Clerk Salary by State (2026)
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks earn the most in District of Columbia at $66,130 a year and the least in Arkansas at $36,960 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $48,700. The table below covers all 50 states and DC, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.
- Highest median
- $66,130District of Columbia
- National median
- $48,700BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Lowest median
- $36,960Arkansas
- Areas reporting
- 51of 54 OEWS areas
Top and bottom
Highest- and lowest-paying states for court, municipal, and license clerks
Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. After cost of living, North Dakota comes out ahead instead.
Highest median pay
- 1District of Columbia$66,130
- 2Washington$64,680
- 3California$63,320
- 4Massachusetts$61,730
- 5Rhode Island$61,670
Lowest median pay
- 1Arkansas$36,960
- 2Mississippi$37,210
- 3West Virginia$37,810
- 4Alabama$38,360
- 5Oklahoma$39,120
All states
Court, Municipal, and License Clerk salary in every state
Sort by any column. Employment is the number of court, municipal, and license clerks OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DCDistrict of Columbia | $66,130 | $56,820 | $79,270 | 50 | $60,172 |
| 2 | WAWashington | $64,680 | $58,200 | $75,960 | 3,450 | $60,441 |
| 3 | CACalifornia | $63,320 | $58,170 | $74,040 | 12,460 | $57,189 |
| 4 | MAMassachusetts | $61,730 | $52,030 | $73,800 | 4,360 | $58,370 |
| 5 | RIRhode Island | $61,670 | $52,150 | $70,990 | 660 | $60,295 |
| 6 | OROregon | $61,300 | $54,420 | $66,660 | 1,820 | $59,307 |
| 7 | CTConnecticut | $60,480 | $51,130 | $68,470 | 1,300 | $58,373 |
| 8 | MDMaryland | $58,380 | $51,410 | $64,610 | 2,360 | $55,622 |
| 9 | NVNevada | $56,680 | $47,900 | $65,440 | 1,250 | $56,692 |
| 10 | MNMinnesota | $56,520 | $50,500 | $64,470 | 5,360 | $57,310 |
| 11 | AKAlaska | $54,270 | $45,930 | $62,010 | 650 | $53,019 |
| 12 | NDNorth Dakota | $53,850 | $47,400 | $61,010 | 600 | $60,534 |
| 13 | NJNew Jersey | $53,700 | $45,650 | $63,900 | 5,710 | $49,354 |
| 14 | NYNew York | $53,500 | $45,230 | $75,640 | 11,850 | $49,573 |
| 15 | VTVermont | $53,000 | $47,670 | $62,480 | 890 | $54,105 |
| 16 | WIWisconsin | $51,920 | $47,210 | $60,120 | 1,240 | $55,178 |
| 17 | HIHawaii | $51,890 | $48,940 | $61,880 | 510 | $47,194 |
| 18 | UTUtah | $51,130 | $44,940 | $62,730 | 1,280 | $51,718 |
| 19 | COColorado | $50,410 | $38,950 | $61,190 | 7,920 | $48,917 |
| 20 | NCNorth Carolina | $49,110 | $42,520 | $58,730 | 5,240 | $52,064 |
| 21 | AZArizona | $48,700 | $42,300 | $57,150 | 3,560 | $48,373 |
| 22 | MIMichigan | $48,690 | $41,160 | $59,490 | 5,620 | $50,604 |
| 23 | MEMaine | $48,580 | $45,980 | $59,500 | 1,150 | $50,057 |
| 24 | IDIdaho | $48,450 | $41,070 | $56,270 | 1,500 | $50,736 |
| 25 | NENebraska | $48,420 | $45,370 | $63,940 | 1,210 | $53,738 |
| 26 | IAIowa | $48,280 | $44,220 | $58,010 | 2,390 | $55,012 |
| 27 | OHOhio | $48,030 | $38,720 | $60,340 | 9,550 | $51,771 |
| 28 | FLFlorida | $47,100 | $40,090 | $56,610 | 11,180 | $45,545 |
| 29 | NMNew Mexico | $46,960 | $42,330 | $50,500 | 1,040 | $50,926 |
| 30 | ILIllinois | $46,920 | $37,480 | $61,140 | 8,370 | $46,940 |
| 31 | NHNew Hampshire | $46,590 | $39,710 | $58,030 | 550 | $44,727 |
| 32 | TXTexas | $46,580 | $39,610 | $49,410 | 15,730 | $47,992 |
| 33 | LALouisiana | $46,570 | $37,750 | $58,200 | 2,900 | $52,796 |
| 34 | WYWyoming | $46,540 | $40,160 | $51,470 | 770 | $50,210 |
| 35 | INIndiana | $46,350 | $38,220 | $50,210 | 3,460 | $49,663 |
| 36 | MTMontana | $45,680 | $38,260 | $48,010 | 1,340 | $48,265 |
| 37 | VAVirginia | $45,650 | $40,990 | $50,470 | 4,610 | $45,152 |
| 38 | PAPennsylvania | $44,830 | $38,200 | $55,760 | 3,320 | $45,946 |
| 39 | KSKansas | $44,740 | $38,630 | $50,960 | 1,290 | $49,674 |
| 40 | TNTennessee | $44,720 | $38,850 | $49,960 | 3,050 | $48,677 |
| 41 | DEDelaware | $44,600 | $38,280 | $48,920 | 980 | $44,686 |
| 42 | SDSouth Dakota | $43,850 | $37,360 | $47,530 | 920 | $49,500 |
| 43 | KYKentucky | $43,680 | $38,070 | $47,740 | 2,370 | $48,448 |
| 44 | SCSouth Carolina | $43,460 | $36,130 | $49,230 | 2,020 | $46,358 |
| 45 | GAGeorgia | $42,960 | $37,330 | $48,760 | 5,750 | $44,614 |
| 46 | MOMissouri | $41,020 | $36,920 | $47,490 | 4,760 | $45,168 |
| 47 | OKOklahoma | $39,120 | $33,770 | $47,040 | 2,730 | $44,534 |
| 48 | ALAlabama | $38,360 | $33,880 | $47,830 | 2,050 | $43,187 |
| 49 | WVWest Virginia | $37,810 | $34,440 | $45,220 | 1,590 | $42,247 |
| 50 | MSMississippi | $37,210 | $31,930 | $47,440 | 2,950 | $42,793 |
| 51 | ARArkansas | $36,960 | $31,470 | $44,020 | 2,090 | $42,514 |
Method
How the cost-of-living adjustment works
The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.
For court, municipal, and license clerks, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $66,130, while North Dakota leads once prices are taken into account at $60,534.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.
Questions
Court, Municipal, and License Clerk pay by state: FAQ
Which state pays court, municipal, and license clerks the most?
District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for court, municipal, and license clerks at $66,130 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($64,680) and California ($63,320).
Which state pays court, municipal, and license clerks the least?
Among the 50 states and DC, Arkansas reports the lowest median for court, municipal, and license clerks at $36,960 a year, $29,170 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Is the highest-paying state the best for court, municipal, and license clerks after cost of living?
Not on this data. District of Columbia pays the most on paper ($66,130) but ranks 4th of 51 once each median is divided by the state's BEA Regional Price Parity ($60,172). North Dakota leads after that adjustment at $60,534, from a raw median of $53,850. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.