Customer Service Representatives Salary: $54,233 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 2,725,930 customer service representatives nationally earn a mean of $54,233. Employment in the series shown fell about 7% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 0.7% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Customer Service Representatives: what the data shows
Common questions about customer service representatives careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a customer service representatives?
Customer Service Representatives is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 43-4051.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 2,725,930 workers.
What does a customer service representatives do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Working with Computers, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Processing Information, Getting Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a customer service representatives make?
BLS national median annual wage: $42,830 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $54,233 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,144 |
| 25th percentile | $41,832 |
| Median (50th) | $48,819 |
| 75th percentile | $61,772 |
| 90th percentile | $76,779 |
What education do you need?
For Customer Service Representatives, 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, Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Sales and Marketing. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is customer service representatives in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.7% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -3.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -6.9%.
Current U.S. headcount: 2,725,930.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do customer service representativess work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 2,725,930 | 18.9% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 2,632,700 | 18.3% |
| Finance and Insurance | 487,850 | 3.4% |
| Retail Trade | 472,080 | 3.3% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 405,860 | 2.8% |
| Administrative and Support Services | 398,390 | 2.8% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Customer Service Representatives in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians | 136,390 | $78,680 |
| Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians | 36,880 | $52,080 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers | 124,130 | $56,170 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | 143,590 | $33,720 |
| Postal Service Mail Carriers | 336,040 | $57,490 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Customer Service Representatives workforce.
Employment Over Time
2,725,930 Workforce in 2023
The Customer Service Representatives workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Customer Service Representatives.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$54,233 Average Wage
In 2023, Customer Service Representatives earned an average of $54,233.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Customer Service Representatives.
Salary distribution for Customer Service Representatives.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
683,530 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -3.5%
659,516 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -6.9%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Customer Service Representatives.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Customer Service Representatives and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Customer Service Representatives employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Customer Service Representatives.
Wage Trends by Industry
7.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Customer Service Representatives.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Customer Service Representatives.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 164,740 employees, $54,412 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Customer Service Representatives.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 45,010 employees, $53,056 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 21,790 employees, $53,492 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 16,430 employees, $49,575 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 15,680 employees, $52,119 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 12,810 employees, $53,089 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 10,610 employees, $61,151 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 10,180 employees, $63,797 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 9,750 employees, $65,174 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 4,880 employees, $51,087 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 3,130 employees, $50,535 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Customer Service Representatives.
Diversity
Demographic information on Customer Service Representatives in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Customer Service Representatives in 2023 was 2,725,930 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Customer Service Representatives.
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 Customer Service Representatives.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Customer Service Representatives.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Customer Service Representatives in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Customer Service Representatives.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Customer Service Representatives workers.
Education level distribution for Customer Service Representatives.
Skills
Customer Service Representatives need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Customer Service Representatives.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Customer Service Representatives.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Customer Service Representatives include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Sales and Marketing, Mathematics.
Knowledge areas required for Customer Service Representatives.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Customer Service Representatives include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Problem Sensitivity.
Required abilities for Customer Service Representatives.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Customer Service Representatives.
Daily Activities
Customer Service Representatives spend their time on activities such as Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Working with Computers, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Processing Information.
Most important work activities for Customer Service Representatives.
About
Customer Service Representatives
The average yearly wage for Customer Service Representatives was $54,233 in 2023.
SOC Code
43-4051 - Customer Service Representatives
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Customer Service Representatives reports an average salary of $54,233.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 2,725,930 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.7%, 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.