Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
43-5071 Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks
Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment. Excludes “Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping” (43-5111), “Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, except Postal Service” (43-9051), and “Stockers and Order Fillers” (53-7065).
National estimates for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks
Industry profile for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks
Geographic profile for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks
National estimates for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 795,360 |
0.7 % |
$ 18.37 |
$ 38,210 |
0.2 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 13.38 |
$ 14.35 |
$ 17.74 |
$ 21.97 |
$ 24.29 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 27,830 |
$ 29,840 |
$ 36,890 |
$ 45,710 |
$ 50,520 |
Industry profile for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Warehousing and Storage |
73,060 |
4.41 |
$ 18.14 |
$ 37,720 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only) |
41,470 |
3.03 |
$ 18.59 |
$ 38,660 |
| Employment Services |
35,940 |
1.03 |
$ 15.26 |
$ 31,730 |
| Couriers and Express Delivery Services |
32,410 |
3.50 |
$ 20.79 |
$ 43,230 |
| Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) |
29,360 |
0.99 |
$ 17.06 |
$ 35,490 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses |
25,370 |
5.50 |
$ 17.17 |
$ 35,710 |
| Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers |
6,580 |
5.09 |
$ 17.32 |
$ 36,030 |
| Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing |
540 |
4.94 |
$ 15.01 |
$ 31,230 |
| Textile and Fabric Finishing and Fabric Coating Mills |
1,130 |
4.67 |
$ 17.18 |
$ 35,730 |
| Electronics and Appliance Stores |
18,470 |
4.41 |
$ 15.93 |
$ 33,130 |
Top paying industries for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
Geographic profile for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
87,880 |
5.32 |
0.94 |
$ 19.75 |
$ 41,080 |
| Texas |
78,960 |
6.46 |
1.14 |
$ 17.21 |
$ 35,800 |
| Florida |
42,970 |
4.99 |
0.88 |
$ 17.07 |
$ 35,510 |
| Ohio |
39,160 |
7.53 |
1.33 |
$ 18.21 |
$ 37,870 |
| Illinois |
35,890 |
6.39 |
1.13 |
$ 19.73 |
$ 41,040 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Utah |
16,620 |
10.69 |
1.89 |
$ 16.59 |
$ 34,510 |
| Nevada |
11,360 |
8.81 |
1.56 |
$ 17.44 |
$ 36,280 |
| Indiana |
24,820 |
8.32 |
1.47 |
$ 18.37 |
$ 38,210 |
| Ohio |
39,160 |
7.53 |
1.33 |
$ 18.21 |
$ 37,870 |
| Missouri |
20,370 |
7.47 |
1.32 |
$ 16.33 |
$ 33,970 |
Top paying states for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
600 |
0.90 |
0.16 |
$ 23.58 |
$ 49,050 |
| Alaska |
700 |
2.36 |
0.42 |
$ 22.94 |
$ 47,710 |
| Washington |
20,070 |
6.26 |
1.11 |
$ 22.04 |
$ 45,850 |
| Hawaii |
1,630 |
2.98 |
0.53 |
$ 20.73 |
$ 43,110 |
| Massachusetts |
13,360 |
3.93 |
0.70 |
$ 20.61 |
$ 42,860 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
33,600 |
5.87 |
1.04 |
$ 19.49 |
$ 40,550 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
32,920 |
3.79 |
0.67 |
$ 20.59 |
$ 42,820 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
28,640 |
6.77 |
1.20 |
$ 20.29 |
$ 42,190 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
26,590 |
7.41 |
1.31 |
$ 17.83 |
$ 37,090 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
20,590 |
7.11 |
1.26 |
$ 17.56 |
$ 36,530 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
19,130 |
7.39 |
1.31 |
$ 17.69 |
$ 36,790 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
14,530 |
5.92 |
1.05 |
$ 17.26 |
$ 35,890 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
13,580 |
7.08 |
1.25 |
$ 23.29 |
$ 48,440 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
12,710 |
6.00 |
1.06 |
$ 17.87 |
$ 37,170 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
11,960 |
4.50 |
0.80 |
$ 19.60 |
$ 40,760 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN |
2,380 |
17.79 |
3.15 |
$ 20.75 |
$ 43,160 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
11,050 |
14.87 |
2.63 |
$ 16.45 |
$ 34,210 |
| Laredo, TX |
1,340 |
13.79 |
2.44 |
$ 13.45 |
$ 27,970 |
| Spartanburg, SC |
2,050 |
13.07 |
2.32 |
$ 16.61 |
$ 34,540 |
| Dalton, GA |
790 |
12.60 |
2.23 |
$ 16.07 |
$ 33,430 |
| Reno, NV |
2,630 |
11.14 |
1.97 |
$ 18.63 |
$ 38,760 |
| Jackson, TN |
710 |
10.66 |
1.89 |
$ 17.47 |
$ 36,330 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA |
2,690 |
10.48 |
1.86 |
$ 19.12 |
$ 39,760 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR |
6,280 |
10.38 |
1.84 |
$ 18.23 |
$ 37,910 |
| Canton-Massillon, OH |
1,630 |
10.30 |
1.82 |
$ 17.08 |
$ 35,530 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Fairbanks, AK |
90 |
2.75 |
0.49 |
$ 24.75 |
$ 51,470 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
13,580 |
7.08 |
1.25 |
$ 23.29 |
$ 48,440 |
| Anchorage, AK |
450 |
2.77 |
0.49 |
$ 22.67 |
$ 47,150 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
4,260 |
3.98 |
0.71 |
$ 22.58 |
$ 46,970 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
9,290 |
4.14 |
0.73 |
$ 22.29 |
$ 46,350 |
| Midland, MI |
260 |
7.56 |
1.34 |
$ 22.14 |
$ 46,060 |
| Napa, CA |
340 |
4.92 |
0.87 |
$ 22.06 |
$ 45,890 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale, WA |
300 |
3.43 |
0.61 |
$ 21.71 |
$ 45,150 |
| Longview, WA |
280 |
7.37 |
1.31 |
$ 21.54 |
$ 44,800 |
| Hanford-Corcoran, CA |
150 |
3.52 |
0.62 |
$ 21.26 |
$ 44,210 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) |
2,550 |
8.12 |
1.44 |
$ 18.46 |
$ 38,390 |
| Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area |
2,280 |
11.13 |
1.97 |
$ 18.42 |
$ 38,300 |
| West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area |
2,260 |
9.43 |
1.67 |
$ 18.38 |
$ 38,230 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area |
2,200 |
5.86 |
1.04 |
$ 17.07 |
$ 35,510 |
| Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area |
1,820 |
8.22 |
1.46 |
$ 15.54 |
$ 32,310 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory 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.
(8) Estimate not released.
(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
