Cashiers Salary: $39,622 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 3,148,030 cashiers nationally earn a mean of $39,622. Employment in the series shown fell about 6% from the first to the last year; much hiring sits in retail trade.
Key Statistics
Cashiers: what the data shows
Common questions about cashiers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a cashiers?
Cashiers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 41-2011.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 3,148,030 workers.
What does a cashiers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a cashiers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $31,190 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $39,622 — 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 | $34,673 |
| 25th percentile | $35,563 |
| Median (50th) | $37,086 |
| 75th percentile | $40,389 |
| 90th percentile | $48,702 |
What education do you need?
For Cashiers, 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 Service Orientation, Speaking, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Mathematics, Monitoring, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Mathematics, Administration and Management, Administrative. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is cashiers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.2% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -0.9%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -1.8%.
Current U.S. headcount: 3,148,030.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do cashierss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 3,148,030 | 19.6% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 3,113,650 | 19.4% |
| Retail Trade | 2,619,890 | 16.3% |
| General Merchandise Retailers | 1,108,460 | 6.9% |
| Food and Beverage Retailers | 914,620 | 5.7% |
| Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only) | 838,060 | 5.2% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Cashiers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Cashiers workforce.
Employment Over Time
3,148,030 Workforce in 2023
The Cashiers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Cashiers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$39,622 Average Wage
In 2023, Cashiers earned an average of $39,622.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Cashiers.
Salary distribution for Cashiers.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.2% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
1,380,286 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -0.9%
1,367,982 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -1.8%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Cashiers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Cashiers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Cashiers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Cashiers.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.8% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Cashiers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Cashiers.
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: 349,300 employees, $38,750 avg wage
- TX: 266,210 employees, $28,750 avg wage
- FL: 197,310 employees, $30,690 avg wage
- NY: 163,700 employees, $36,600 avg wage
- IL: 118,010 employees, $33,100 avg wage
- NC: 115,170 employees, $27,990 avg wage
- OH: 112,650 employees, $29,030 avg wage
- PA: 111,340 employees, $29,170 avg wage
- GA: 96,120 employees, $27,940 avg wage
- NJ: 93,270 employees, $34,660 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Cashiers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 163,130 employees, $37,250 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 114,090 employees, $38,420 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 82,020 employees, $33,970 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 71,200 employees, $29,790 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 61,310 employees, $29,320 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 55,460 employees, $31,180 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 54,450 employees, $31,840 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 54,070 employees, $35,710 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 53,900 employees, $29,110 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 46,710 employees, $34,380 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Cashiers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Cashiers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Cashiers in 2023 was 3,148,030 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Cashiers.
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 Cashiers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Cashiers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Cashiers in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Cashiers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Cashiers workers.
Education level distribution for Cashiers.
Skills
Cashiers need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Speaking, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Mathematics.
Required skills for Cashiers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Cashiers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Cashiers include Customer and Personal Service, Mathematics, Administration and Management, Administrative, Sales and Marketing.
Knowledge areas required for Cashiers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Cashiers include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Near Vision, Written Comprehension, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Cashiers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Cashiers.
Daily Activities
Cashiers spend their time on activities such as Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
Most important work activities for Cashiers.
About
Cashiers
The average yearly wage for Cashiers was $39,622 in 2023.
SOC Code
41-2011 - Cashiers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Cashiers reports an average salary of $39,622.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 3,148,030 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.2%, 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.