Counter and Rental Clerks Salary: $38,540 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 398,620 counter and rental clerks work nationally, and $38,540 is the BLS national median annual wage. Projections imply about 0.4% annual growth; much hiring sits in real estate.
Counter and Rental Clerks: what the data shows
Common questions about counter and rental clerks careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a counter and rental clerks?
Counter and Rental Clerks is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 41-2021.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 398,620 workers.
What does a counter and rental clerks do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Documenting/Recording Information, Processing Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a counter and rental clerks make?
BLS national median annual wage: $38,540 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $48,620 — 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 | $35,348 |
| 25th percentile | $37,260 |
| Median (50th) | $42,281 |
| 75th percentile | $50,072 |
| 90th percentile | $66,463 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative, Sales and Marketing. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is counter and rental clerks in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.4% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 2.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 4.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 398,620.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do counter and rental clerkss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 398,620 | 19.7% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 396,430 | 19.6% |
| Real Estate | 201,080 | 10.0% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 189,840 | 9.4% |
| Rental and Leasing Services | 89,260 | 4.4% |
| Retail Trade | 79,360 | 3.9% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Counter and Rental Clerks in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Counter and Rental Clerks workforce.
Employment Over Time
398,620 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Counter and Rental Clerks grew from 257,740 in 2009 to 275,720 in 2025 (7.0%).
Historical employment for Counter and Rental Clerks from the California OEWS series, 2009–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$38,540 Median pay (BLS national)
Counter and Rental Clerks earn $38,540 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Salary distribution for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Employment Growth Projections
0.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
281,591 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 2.1%
287,589 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 4.3%
This occupation is projected to grow at 0.4% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Counter and Rental Clerks and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Counter and Rental Clerks employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Wage Trends by Industry
2.8% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Counter and Rental 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: 69,870 employees, $47,550 avg wage
- TX: 37,680 employees, $38,430 avg wage
- FL: 29,150 employees, $42,980 avg wage
- NY: 18,900 employees, $49,870 avg wage
- NC: 16,150 employees, $41,500 avg wage
- WA: 16,010 employees, $49,640 avg wage
- CO: 14,660 employees, $49,440 avg wage
- VA: 14,080 employees, $46,580 avg wage
- MI: 11,610 employees, $42,490 avg wage
- IL: 11,420 employees, $42,900 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 26,410 employees, $46,090 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 17,690 employees, $50,340 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 12,830 employees, $39,200 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 10,570 employees, $51,400 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 9,350 employees, $49,340 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 9,030 employees, $51,840 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 8,870 employees, $42,910 avg wage
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: 8,240 employees, $50,390 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 7,720 employees, $39,930 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 6,860 employees, $50,060 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Diversity
Demographic information on Counter and Rental Clerks in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Counter and Rental Clerks is about 398,620 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Counter and Rental 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 Counter and Rental Clerks.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Counter and Rental Clerks in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Counter and Rental Clerks workers.
Education level distribution for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Skills
Counter and Rental Clerks need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Counter and Rental Clerks include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative, Sales and Marketing, Administration and Management.
Knowledge areas required for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Counter and Rental Clerks include Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Near Vision.
Required abilities for Counter and Rental Clerks.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Counter and Rental Clerks.
Daily Activities
Counter and Rental Clerks spend their time on activities such as Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Documenting/Recording Information, Processing Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
Most important work activities for Counter and Rental Clerks.
About
Counter and Rental Clerks
Counter and Rental Clerks earn $38,540 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
41-2021 - Counter and Rental Clerks
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Counter and Rental Clerks reports an average salary of $48,620.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 398,620 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 0.4%, 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.