Order Clerks Salary: $50,300 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 83,420 order clerks nationally earn a mean of $50,300. Employment in the series shown fell about 18% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 6.6% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Order Clerks: what the data shows
Common questions about order clerks careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a order clerks?
Order Clerks is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 43-4151.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 83,420 workers.
What does a order clerks do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Processing Information, Performing Administrative Activities, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a order clerks make?
BLS national median annual wage: $44,660 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $50,300 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,073 |
| 25th percentile | $41,229 |
| Median (50th) | $47,624 |
| 75th percentile | $56,614 |
| 90th percentile | $65,726 |
What education do you need?
For Order Clerks, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Production and Processing, Computers and Electronics, Education and Training. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is order clerks in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 6.6% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -28.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -49.4%.
Current U.S. headcount: 83,420.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do order clerkss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 83,420 | 19.8% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 82,930 | 19.7% |
| Wholesale Trade | 22,920 | 5.4% |
| Retail Trade | 16,470 | 3.9% |
| Manufacturing | 14,120 | 3.4% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | 13,010 | 3.1% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Order Clerks in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Order Clerks workforce.
Employment Over Time
83,420 Workforce in 2023
The Order Clerks workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Order Clerks.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$50,300 Average Wage
In 2023, Order Clerks earned an average of $50,300.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Order Clerks.
Salary distribution for Order Clerks.
Employment Growth Projections
-6.6% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
36,019 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -28.8%
25,629 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -49.4%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Order Clerks.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Order Clerks and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Order Clerks employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Order Clerks.
Wage Trends by Industry
12.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Order Clerks.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Order Clerks.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 13,240 employees, $49,240 avg wage
- TX: 6,140 employees, $43,570 avg wage
- WA: 5,110 employees, $50,780 avg wage
- OH: 4,700 employees, $45,840 avg wage
- FL: 4,250 employees, $46,040 avg wage
- IL: 4,150 employees, $45,670 avg wage
- NJ: 3,640 employees, $47,210 avg wage
- NY: 3,610 employees, $48,560 avg wage
- PA: 3,150 employees, $46,320 avg wage
- NC: 2,880 employees, $43,960 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Order Clerks.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 5,540 employees, $47,440 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 4,880 employees, $48,070 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 3,460 employees, $45,960 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 3,180 employees, $51,570 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 2,030 employees, $46,030 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 1,640 employees, $46,860 avg wage
- Oklahoma City, OK: 1,580 employees, $44,160 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 1,470 employees, $46,650 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 1,460 employees, $56,520 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 1,360 employees, $46,980 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Order Clerks.
Diversity
Demographic information on Order Clerks in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Order Clerks in 2023 was 83,420 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Order Clerks.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Order Clerks.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Order Clerks.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Order Clerks in 2023 were Business, Social Sciences, General Studies.
Common majors for Order Clerks.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Order Clerks workers.
Education level distribution for Order Clerks.
Skills
Order Clerks need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Required skills for Order Clerks.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Order Clerks.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Order Clerks include Customer and Personal Service, Production and Processing, Computers and Electronics, Education and Training, English Language.
Knowledge areas required for Order Clerks.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Order Clerks include Speech Recognition, Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Near Vision, Speech Clarity.
Required abilities for Order Clerks.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Order Clerks.
Daily Activities
Order Clerks spend their time on activities such as Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Processing Information.
Most important work activities for Order Clerks.
About
Order Clerks
The average yearly wage for Order Clerks was $50,300 in 2023.
SOC Code
43-4151 - Order Clerks
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Order Clerks reports an average salary of $50,300.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 83,420 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -6.6%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.