Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks Salary: $65,389 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 156,950 payroll and timekeeping clerks nationally earn a mean of $65,389. Much hiring sits in professional, scientific, and technical services; about 62% of workers are women.
Key Statistics
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks: what the data shows
Common questions about payroll and timekeeping clerks careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a payroll and timekeeping clerks?
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 43-3051.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 156,950 workers.
What does a payroll and timekeeping clerks do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Working with Computers, Processing Information, Getting Information, Performing Administrative Activities, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Documenting/Recording Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a payroll and timekeeping clerks make?
BLS national median annual wage: $55,290 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $65,389 — 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 | $36,367 |
| 25th percentile | $51,005 |
| Median (50th) | $62,998 |
| 75th percentile | $77,238 |
| 90th percentile | $90,038 |
What education do you need?
For Payroll and Timekeeping 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 Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Mathematics, Writing, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and knowledge areas including Administrative, Mathematics, English Language, Economics and Accounting. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is payroll and timekeeping clerks in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.1% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -0.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -1.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 156,950.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do payroll and timekeeping clerkss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 156,950 | 18.3% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 134,100 | 15.6% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 27,300 | 3.2% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 27,300 | 3.2% |
| Educational Services | 24,770 | 2.9% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 22,850 | 2.7% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks workforce.
Employment Over Time
156,950 Workforce in 2023
The Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$65,389 Average Wage
In 2023, Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks earned an average of $65,389.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Salary distribution for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
90,048 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -0.5%
89,599 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -1.0%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Wage Trends by Industry
10.0% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Payroll and Timekeeping 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: 23,180 employees, $64,010 avg wage
- TX: 14,130 employees, $52,950 avg wage
- FL: 10,060 employees, $50,610 avg wage
- NY: 9,040 employees, $62,690 avg wage
- IL: 6,060 employees, $60,620 avg wage
- OH: 5,690 employees, $53,560 avg wage
- PA: 5,630 employees, $55,820 avg wage
- GA: 4,740 employees, $54,650 avg wage
- NJ: 4,350 employees, $60,870 avg wage
- IN: 4,120 employees, $50,890 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 8,380 employees, $58,940 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 7,950 employees, $65,760 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 4,710 employees, $62,930 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 3,950 employees, $56,140 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 3,590 employees, $55,150 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 3,060 employees, $51,860 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 2,980 employees, $56,470 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 2,800 employees, $59,420 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 2,770 employees, $54,950 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 2,660 employees, $64,720 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Diversity
Demographic information on Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in 2023 was 156,950 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Payroll and Timekeeping 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 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks workers.
Education level distribution for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Skills
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Mathematics, Writing, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks include Administrative, Mathematics, English Language, Economics and Accounting, Personnel and Human Resources.
Knowledge areas required for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks include Written Comprehension, Oral Comprehension, Written Expression, Near Vision, Oral Expression.
Required abilities for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
Daily Activities
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks spend their time on activities such as Working with Computers, Processing Information, Getting Information, Performing Administrative Activities, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
About
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
The average yearly wage for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks was $65,389 in 2023.
SOC Code
43-3051 - Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks reports an average salary of $65,389.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 156,950 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.1%, 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.