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.
Office Clerk, General Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Office Clerks, General is $45,010 a year ($21.64/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to fall 6.7% through 2034, with about 282,400 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
SOC 43-9061Office and Administrative SupportLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $45,010
- Projected growth
- -6.7%
- Openings a year
- 282,400
- Typical education
- High school
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Administrative Clerk (Admin Clerk), Clerical Aide, Clerical Assistant, Clerk, General Clerk, Office Assistant.
How much do Office Clerks, General make?
10th percentile$30,310
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$36,350
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$45,010
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$54,300
Upper quartile
90th percentile$64,680
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $45,010 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $21.64/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $46,420 |
| People employed | 2,464,940 |
Versus all US occupations
At $45,010, Office Clerks, General earn 12% below the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $5,970 a year.
Versus office and administrative support occupations
Inside the Office and Administrative Support group, where the middle occupation pays $48,500, this is 7% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $64,680 or more while the bottom 10% earn $30,310, a gap of 2.1×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 17% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
District of Columbia posts the highest raw median ($55,040), but once local prices are taken into account North Dakota leads at $56,386 in national-average dollars.
Which states pay Office Clerks, General the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $55,040 | $50,081 | 5,670 |
| Colorado | $53,550 | $51,964 | 31,770 |
| Alaska | $51,890 | $50,694 | 3,440 |
| Washington | $50,500 | $47,191 | 49,050 |
| North Dakota | $50,160 | $56,386 | 8,440 |
| Massachusetts | $49,940 | $47,221 | 47,940 |
| Oregon | $49,910 | $48,287 | 27,980 |
| New Hampshire | $49,020 | $47,060 | 12,740 |
| New Jersey | $48,570 | $44,639 | 65,130 |
| California | $48,460 | $43,768 | 311,490 |
Is Office Clerk, General a growing career?
Office Clerks, General-6.7%
All US occupations3.1%
-6.7% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Declining
BLS projects employment of Office Clerks, General to change -6.7% over 2024–2034, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.1%. That is 177,800 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 282,400 openings are projected each year, 10.7% of the 2,646,000 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.
The continued use of technology that automates document preparation and other clerical tasks, such as automated phone systems, is expected to result in fewer general office clerks needed to perform this work. In addition, electronic filing systems and file sharing software allow other office workers to do the tasks previously done by general office clerks, further decreasing employment of office clerks. However, there will likely still be some demand for these workers to handle administrative tasks.
How to become an Office Clerk, General
General office clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent to enter the occupation and learn their skills 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 | Short-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 office clerks, general.
- High School Diploma40.6%
- Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)36.4%
- Some College Courses14.7%
- Post-Secondary Certificate6.5%
- Less than a High School Diploma1.5%
What does an Office Clerk, General do?
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, office machine operation, and filing.
General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.
Day-to-day tasks
- Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.
- Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints.
- Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages.
- Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests.
- Open, sort, and route incoming mail, answer correspondence, and prepare outgoing mail.
- Deliver messages and run errands.
- Type, format, proofread, and edit correspondence and other documents, from notes or dictating machines, using computers or typewriters.
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Where office clerks, general work
| Educational services; state, local, and private | 13% |
|---|---|
| Healthcare and social assistance | 11% |
| Construction | 10% |
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | 10% |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 8% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension3.8/5
- Active Listening3.8/5
- Speaking3.6/5
- Writing3.1/5
- Critical Thinking3.0/5
- Monitoring2.9/5
- Active Learning2.8/5
- Mathematics2.1/5
Transferable skills
- Social Perceptiveness3.0/5
- Coordination3.0/5
- Service Orientation3.0/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Instructing2.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.8/5
- Persuasion2.6/5
- Negotiation2.6/5
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Desktop publishing software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Project management software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits an Office Clerk, General?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic2.9
Investigative1.9
Artistic1.0
Socialprimary3.1
Enterprisingprimary3.2
Conventionalprimary6.8
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.
Office Clerk, General: frequently asked questions
How much do Office Clerks, General make?
Office Clerks, General earn a median of $45,010 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 12% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $21.64/hr. The middle half earn between $36,350 and $54,300. The top 10% earn $64,680 or more.
Do you need a degree to become an Office Clerk, General?
No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Office Clerks, General. BLS also lists short-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 40.6% hold high school diploma.
Is Office Clerk, General a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 6.7% over 2024–2034, a loss of 177,800 jobs (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 282,400 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does an Office Clerk, General do?
General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records. A core O*NET task: operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Desktop publishing software.
Which states pay Office Clerks, General the most?
The highest state medians for Office Clerks, General are District of Columbia ($55,040), Colorado ($53,550), Alaska ($51,890) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, North Dakota moves to the top at $56,386.
What personality type suits an Office Clerk, General?
O*NET scores Office Clerks, General 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, ISFJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.