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.
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks earn a median of $58,260 per year ($28.01/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to fall 16.7% through 2034, with about 13,000 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
SOC 43-3051Office and Administrative SupportLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $58,260
- Projected growth
- -16.7%
- Openings a year
- 13,000
- Typical education
- High school
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Payroll Assistant, Payroll Clerk, Payroll Coordinator, Payroll Representative, Payroll Specialist, Payroll Technician.
How much do Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks make?
10th percentile$39,500
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$47,990
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$58,260
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$69,600
Upper quartile
90th percentile$81,350
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $58,260 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $28.01/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $59,630 |
| People employed | 153,140 |
Versus all US occupations
At $58,260, Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks earn 14% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $7,280 a year.
Versus office and administrative support occupations
Inside the Office and Administrative Support group, where the middle occupation pays $48,500, this is 20% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $81,350 or more while the bottom 10% earn $39,500, a gap of 2.1×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 39% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
District of Columbia posts the highest raw median ($74,670), but once local prices are taken into account North Dakota leads at $68,121 in national-average dollars.
Which states pay Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $74,670 | $67,943 | 270 |
| California | $65,340 | $59,014 | 20,590 |
| Washington | $64,560 | $60,329 | 3,560 |
| Colorado | $64,140 | $62,240 | 2,580 |
| Massachusetts | $63,670 | $60,204 | 3,280 |
| New Hampshire | $63,090 | $60,567 | 800 |
| Alaska | $62,210 | $60,776 | 360 |
| Connecticut | $62,200 | $60,033 | 1,540 |
| Hawaii | $62,070 | $56,452 | 700 |
| Illinois | $61,390 | $61,416 | 5,580 |
Is Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk a growing career?
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks-16.7%
All US occupations3.1%
-16.7% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Declining
BLS projects employment of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks to change -16.7% over 2024–2034, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.1%. That is 27,000 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 13,000 openings are projected each year, 8.1% of the 161,100 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Overall employment of financial clerks is projected to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
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 availability of online tools, which allow financial customers to perform many tasks themselves, is expected to reduce demand for occupations such as new accounts clerks; procurement clerks; and credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks. Similarly, productivity-enhancing technology is expected to limit demand for other clerks, such as payroll and timekeeping clerks, loan interviewers and clerks, brokerage clerks, and insurance claims and policy processing clerks.
How to become a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk
A high school diploma or equivalent is typically required for most financial clerk jobs. These workers typically learn their duties through on-the-job training.
| Typical entry-level education | High school diploma or equivalent |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Some 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 payroll and timekeeping clerks.
- Bachelor's Degree31.8%
- Some College Courses30.4%
- High School Diploma20.6%
- Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)17.3%
What does a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk do?
Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions, or prepare paychecks.
Financial clerks do administrative work for many types of organizations. They keep records, help customers, and carry out transactions that involve money.
Day-to-day tasks
- Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees.
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
- Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
- Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases.
- Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
- Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records.
- Conduct verifications of employment.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension3.9/5
- Active Listening3.8/5
- Mathematics3.3/5
- Writing3.1/5
- Speaking3.1/5
- Critical Thinking3.1/5
- Monitoring3.0/5
- Active Learning2.8/5
Transferable skills
- Service Orientation3.0/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
- Time Management2.9/5
- Coordination2.8/5
- Instructing2.3/5
- Systems Analysis2.1/5
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Time accounting software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Business intelligence and data analysis software
- Compliance software
- Data base reporting 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 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic1.9
Investigative1.1
Artistic1.0
Social1.9
Enterprisingprimary3.3
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.
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk: frequently asked questions
How much do Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks make?
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks earn a median of $58,260 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 14% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $28.01/hr. The middle half earn between $47,990 and $69,600. The top 10% earn $81,350 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk?
No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. 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, 31.8% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 16.7% over 2024–2034, a loss of 27,000 jobs (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 13,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk do?
Financial clerks do administrative work for many types of organizations. A core O*NET task: keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software.
Which states pay Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks the most?
The highest state medians for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks are District of Columbia ($74,670), California ($65,340), Washington ($64,560) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, North Dakota moves to the top at $68,121.
What personality type suits a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk?
O*NET scores Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks 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 the closest types are ESTJ, ISFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.