Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
43-3051 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees’ time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions, or prepare paychecks. Excludes “Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks” (43-3031).
National estimates for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
Industry profile for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
Geographic profile for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
National estimates for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 149,290 |
1.3 % |
$ 23.83 |
$ 49,560 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 14.54 |
$ 18.21 |
$ 22.89 |
$ 28.87 |
$ 34.38 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 30,240 |
$ 37,880 |
$ 47,610 |
$ 60,050 |
$ 71,500 |
Industry profile for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services |
14,990 |
1.49 |
$ 21.60 |
$ 44,920 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
14,080 |
0.55 |
$ 25.30 |
$ 52,620 |
| Employment Services |
10,750 |
0.31 |
$ 22.39 |
$ 46,580 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
7,950 |
0.10 |
$ 24.09 |
$ 50,110 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
6,980 |
0.13 |
$ 25.36 |
$ 52,760 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services |
14,990 |
1.49 |
$ 21.60 |
$ 44,920 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3,360 |
0.69 |
$ 24.16 |
$ 50,240 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
14,080 |
0.55 |
$ 25.30 |
$ 52,620 |
| Land Subdivision |
110 |
0.32 |
$ 27.74 |
$ 57,700 |
| Employment Services |
10,750 |
0.31 |
$ 22.39 |
$ 46,580 |
Top paying industries for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
Geographic profile for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
20,850 |
1.26 |
1.19 |
$ 27.02 |
$ 56,200 |
| Texas |
13,810 |
1.13 |
1.07 |
$ 22.39 |
$ 46,580 |
| New York |
9,570 |
1.10 |
1.04 |
$ 26.11 |
$ 54,310 |
| Florida |
8,380 |
0.97 |
0.92 |
$ 22.25 |
$ 46,280 |
| Pennsylvania |
6,600 |
1.18 |
1.12 |
$ 23.29 |
$ 48,440 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Oklahoma |
3,000 |
1.93 |
1.82 |
$ 22.06 |
$ 45,870 |
| Rhode Island |
640 |
1.39 |
1.31 |
$ 26.91 |
$ 55,970 |
| South Carolina |
2,860 |
1.38 |
1.31 |
$ 18.16 |
$ 37,770 |
| Washington |
4,280 |
1.33 |
1.26 |
$ 27.49 |
$ 57,170 |
| California |
20,850 |
1.26 |
1.19 |
$ 27.02 |
$ 56,200 |
Top paying states for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
8,540 |
0.98 |
0.93 |
$ 27.82 |
$ 57,870 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
6,930 |
1.21 |
1.14 |
$ 26.71 |
$ 55,570 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
3,750 |
1.04 |
0.99 |
$ 23.81 |
$ 49,520 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
3,500 |
1.21 |
1.14 |
$ 23.05 |
$ 47,950 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,440 |
0.81 |
0.77 |
$ 25.64 |
$ 53,340 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
3,240 |
1.22 |
1.15 |
$ 26.19 |
$ 54,480 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
2,770 |
1.07 |
1.01 |
$ 27.19 |
$ 56,550 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
2,740 |
1.43 |
1.35 |
$ 28.81 |
$ 59,930 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,660 |
1.19 |
1.12 |
$ 32.02 |
$ 66,600 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
2,630 |
1.24 |
1.17 |
$ 22.72 |
$ 47,270 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME |
140 |
2.99 |
2.82 |
$ 20.04 |
$ 41,690 |
| Oklahoma City, OK |
1,330 |
2.20 |
2.07 |
$ 23.47 |
$ 48,820 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
2,060 |
2.10 |
1.98 |
$ 26.87 |
$ 55,890 |
| Lawton, OK |
80 |
1.95 |
1.84 |
$ 19.59 |
$ 40,760 |
| Enid, OK |
40 |
1.93 |
1.82 |
$ 20.71 |
$ 43,080 |
| Rochester, NY |
900 |
1.91 |
1.80 |
$ 22.56 |
$ 46,920 |
| Tulsa, OK |
780 |
1.87 |
1.76 |
$ 22.27 |
$ 46,330 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
1,710 |
1.86 |
1.76 |
$ 23.26 |
$ 48,370 |
| Bay City, MI |
60 |
1.85 |
1.74 |
$ 22.35 |
$ 46,490 |
| Bangor, ME |
110 |
1.84 |
1.73 |
$ 20.55 |
$ 42,750 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,660 |
1.19 |
1.12 |
$ 32.02 |
$ 66,600 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,020 |
0.95 |
0.90 |
$ 31.85 |
$ 66,240 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,990 |
0.68 |
0.64 |
$ 29.30 |
$ 60,930 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
2,740 |
1.43 |
1.35 |
$ 28.81 |
$ 59,930 |
| Napa, CA |
100 |
1.38 |
1.30 |
$ 28.71 |
$ 59,720 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
430 |
1.15 |
1.08 |
$ 28.35 |
$ 58,960 |
| Boulder, CO |
110 |
0.58 |
0.55 |
$ 28.29 |
$ 58,850 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
160 |
1.21 |
1.14 |
$ 27.90 |
$ 58,020 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
8,540 |
0.98 |
0.93 |
$ 27.82 |
$ 57,870 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
220 |
1.15 |
1.09 |
$ 27.69 |
$ 57,590 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
