Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agent and Travel Clerk Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks earn a median of $44,390 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 13% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $21.34/hr. The middle half earn between $37,850 and $59,640. The top 10% earn $78,150 or more.

The median hourly wage for reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks is $21.34 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $44,390 annual median works out to about $3,700 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 reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks earn less than $32,140 a year and the bottom quarter less than $37,850 (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.

Rarely. Even the 90th percentile is $78,150, so fewer than 10% of reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks earn $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is Michigan at $60,220.

The highest state medians for Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks are Michigan ($60,220), Minnesota ($60,090), California ($49,420) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $78,150, against a median of $44,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Michigan ($60,220), Minnesota ($60,090), California ($49,420).

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks. 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, 75.2% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks is a high school diploma or equivalent. Once hired, BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing some preparation.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.5% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 11,800 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Information clerks do routine clerical tasks such as maintaining records, collecting data, and providing information to customers. A core O*NET task: confer with customers to determine their service requirements and travel preferences. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software, Office suite software.

Most work fewer than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 1% of reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks usually work more than 40 hours a week, 36% work exactly 40 and 63% work fewer. 60% say their schedule is regular and 0% irregular, and 9% work seasonally. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks highest on the Conventional, Social and Enterprising interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ESFJ 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.

Women make up 44.8% of reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks, close to their 47.1% share of all employed people. 21.6% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 39.8 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.