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.
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks is $59,650 a year ($28.68/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to fall 1.8% through 2034, with about 34,100 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
SOC 43-5061Office and Administrative SupportLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $59,650
- Projected growth
- -1.8%
- Openings a year
- 34,100
- Typical education
- High school
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Expeditor, Inventory Control Specialist, Material Requirements Planner (MRP), Materials Coordinator, Materials Planner, Production Assistant.
How much do Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks make?
10th percentile$40,080
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$47,820
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$59,650
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$75,000
Upper quartile
90th percentile$86,000
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $59,650 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $28.68/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $62,150 |
| People employed | 390,160 |
Versus all US occupations
At $59,650, Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks earn 17% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $8,670 a year.
Versus office and administrative support occupations
Inside the Office and Administrative Support group, where the middle occupation pays $48,500, this is 23% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $86,000 or more while the bottom 10% earn $40,080, a gap of 2.1×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 41% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
Washington posts the highest raw median ($77,190), but once local prices are taken into account Wyoming leads at $75,207 in national-average dollars.
Which states pay Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $77,190 | $72,131 | N/A |
| District of Columbia | $72,660 | $66,114 | 430 |
| Wyoming | $69,710 | $75,207 | 110 |
| Rhode Island | $65,310 | $63,854 | 960 |
| Colorado | $63,980 | $62,085 | 7,800 |
| Hawaii | $63,780 | $58,008 | 1,040 |
| Connecticut | $63,240 | $61,037 | 4,090 |
| California | $63,000 | $56,900 | 56,080 |
| New Jersey | $62,710 | $57,635 | 9,410 |
| Delaware | $62,700 | $62,821 | 450 |
Is Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk a growing career?
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks-1.8%
All US occupations3.1%
-1.8% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Declining
BLS projects employment of Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks to change -1.8% over 2024–2034, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.1%. That is 7,100 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 34,100 openings are projected each year, 8.8% of the 388,800 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Overall employment of material recording clerks is projected to grow 6 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.
As e-commerce continues to grow, companies are expanding their use of automated storage and retrieval tools to meet rising demand for products and for faster delivery. These types of technologies, including radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and collaborative robots, will improve the efficiency of many warehouse operations, reducing demand for various material recording clerks.
How to become a Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk
Material recording clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent and are trained 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 production, planning, and expediting clerks.
- High School Diploma36.8%
- Some College Courses21.2%
- Less than a High School Diploma19.5%
- Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)13.2%
- Post-Secondary Certificate9.4%
What does a Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk do?
Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Duties include reviewing and distributing production, work, and shipment schedules; conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates; and compiling reports on progress of work, inventory levels, costs, and production problems.
Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.
Day-to-day tasks
- Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes.
- Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.
- Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
- Compile information, such as production rates and progress, materials inventories, materials used, or customer information, so that status reports can be completed.
- Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands.
- Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineering.
- Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities.
- Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension3.6/5
- Speaking3.6/5
- Active Listening3.5/5
- Critical Thinking3.4/5
- Writing3.1/5
- Monitoring3.1/5
- Active Learning2.8/5
- Mathematics2.6/5
Transferable skills
- Time Management3.5/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.1/5
- Coordination3.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
- Systems Analysis2.9/5
- Systems Evaluation2.8/5
- Persuasion2.6/5
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
- Graphics or photo imaging software · in demand
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite 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 a Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realisticprimary3.1
Investigative1.2
Artistic1.1
Social2.1
Enterprisingprimary4.9
Conventionalprimary5.9
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.
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk: frequently asked questions
How much do Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks make?
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks earn a median of $59,650 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 17% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $28.68/hr. The middle half earn between $47,820 and $75,000. The top 10% earn $86,000 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Production, Planning, and Expediting 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 Production, Planning, and Expediting 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, 36.8% hold high school diploma.
Is Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 1.8% over 2024–2034, a loss of 7,100 jobs (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 34,100 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk do?
Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. A core O*NET task: confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Desktop publishing software.
Which states pay Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks the most?
The highest state medians for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks are Washington ($77,190), District of Columbia ($72,660), Wyoming ($69,710) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Wyoming moves to the top at $75,207.
What personality type suits a Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk?
O*NET scores Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks highest on the Conventional, Enterprising and Realistic 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 923 occupations in the bank.