Customs Broker Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Customs Brokers earn a median of $80,730 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 58% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $38.81/hr. The middle half earn between $61,280 and $109,010. The top 10% earn $133,720 or more.

The median hourly wage for customs brokers is $38.81 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $80,730 annual median works out to about $6,730 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of customs brokers earn less than $48,220 a year and the bottom quarter less than $61,280 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Some do. $100,000 sits between the median ($80,730) and the 75th percentile ($109,010), so roughly a quarter to a half of customs brokers earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). In 3 states the median itself is above $100,000: District of Columbia ($111,030), Massachusetts ($102,060), New Jersey ($100,000).

The highest state medians for Customs Brokers are District of Columbia ($111,030), Massachusetts ($102,060), New Jersey ($100,000) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split customs brokers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $133,720, against a median of $80,730 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are District of Columbia ($111,030), Massachusetts ($102,060), New Jersey ($100,000).

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Customs Brokers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 3.8% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 32,700 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Compliance officers make sure that people and organizations meet legal and regulatory requirements. A core O*NET task: classify goods according to tariff coding system. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software, Enterprise resource planning ERP software.

Most work more than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 53% of customs brokers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 47% work exactly 40 and 0% work fewer. 95% say their schedule is regular and 5% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Customs Brokers highest on the Conventional and Enterprising 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 that lines up most closely with ESTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

No required programme; the exam and the application are the whole path. There is no accredited course, no degree requirement and no apprenticeship in the regulation. What sets the timetable is the exam calendar, twice a year, and the 3-year window in which a passing score stays usable for a licence application. The published pass rates mean multiple attempts are common, and each attempt is six months apart.

Not a state license. Not a state credential at all. The customs broker licence is federal, issued by US Customs and Border Protection under 19 CFR part 111, and it is valid throughout the customs territory of the United States. State residency is irrelevant; US citizenship is not.

The CBLE (Customs Broker License Examination). 80 multiple-choice questions in 4.5 hours, delivered electronically, with a passing score of 75 percent. Held twice a year, generally on the fourth Wednesday in April and October, with a $390 fee payable at least 30 calendar days before the exam date. Designed under 19 CFR 111.13(a) to determine knowledge of customs and related laws, regulations and procedures, bookkeeping, accounting and other matters necessary to render valuable service to importers and exporters. CBP publishes the pass rate for each sitting: 22 percent in April 2026, 12 percent in October 2025 and 30 percent in April 2025, each before appeal decisions.

Women make up 52.7% of customs brokers, against 47.1% of all employed people: more women than in the workforce as a whole. 29.2% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs), so a larger-than-usual share of the workforce reaches retirement age over the next decade. Those exits are counted in the BLS openings figure. The median worker is 47.3 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.