SALARY DATA — SOC 43-4071
File Clerks
43-0000 Office and Administrative Support Occupations
The 90/10 ratio for File Clerks is 2.03× — the national median is $43,600 but top decile earns $63,490. The spread exists; it's concentrated in geography, specialization, and industry sector. Knowing which end of the band you're on is the whole negotiation.
BLS OEWS reference period: May 2025. Employment: 73,440.
Wage distribution — the receipts
National OEWS annual wage percentiles. "vs. median" column shows each percentile relative to the occupation's own national median — this is where your position in the band lives. Source and series IDs: methodology page.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs. median | Hourly (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th pct — bottom decile | $31,200 | -28% | ~$15 |
| 25th pct — lower quartile | $36,420 | -16% | ~$18 |
| Median — 50th pct | $43,600 | — | $20.96/hr |
| Mean — average | $45,590 | +5% | $21.92/hr |
| 75th pct — upper quartile | $51,770 | +19% | ~$25 |
| 90th pct — top decile | $63,490 | +46% | ~$31 |
Source: BLS OEWS national estimates. Annual wage ÷ 2,080 hrs = hourly estimate. Hourly-median is direct from OEWS when available; others are estimates only.
Pay by metro area
BLS publishes May 2025 wage estimates for File Clerks in 248 metro areas; the 10 with the most jobs are below, ranked by employment.
| Metro | Jobs | Median | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 3,930 | $48,450 | $37,330 | $79,680 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 3,260 | $44,710 | $34,610 | $63,190 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 3,170 | $42,850 | $29,730 | $66,930 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 2,640 | $58,320 | $35,990 | $74,300 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 2,580 | $41,400 | $29,640 | $63,580 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 1,920 | $45,760 | $30,420 | $60,350 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 1,700 | $43,270 | $33,870 | $59,130 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 1,640 | $46,700 | $31,710 | $60,830 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 1,530 | $44,460 | $34,820 | $59,120 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1,440 | $45,980 | $32,220 | $62,290 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — metropolitan area estimates (oesm25ma/MSA_M2025_dl.xlsx). Jobs are rounded to the nearest ten and exclude the self-employed; a dash means BLS suppressed that percentile.
Pay by industry
Across 125 detailed industries with a publishable estimate, the 5 that employ the most File Clerks are below, with the median wage each one pays.
| Industry | NAICS | Jobs | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 999300 | 14,360 | $48,380 |
| Legal Services | 541100 | 8,280 | $44,060 |
| Offices of Physicians | 621100 | 2,640 | $38,170 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | 611100 | 2,400 | $44,820 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 611300 | 2,380 | $46,480 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — national 4-digit NAICS industry estimates (oesm25in4/nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx), all ownerships combined. Industries where BLS suppresses the wage are omitted rather than shown as zero.
What it pays vs. what it buys
The wage is only half the number. Below, the metro median for File Clerks is divided by that metro's BEA Regional Price Parity — the federal measure of what a dollar actually buys there. Nominal is what the job pays. Real is what it buys at local prices. Which reorders the answer: Los Angeles ranks #8 of 49 on the paycheck and #32 once you spend it.
| Metro | Nominal | Prices | Real | Rank shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $58,320 | 100.5 | $58,022 | — |
| Hartford | $54,240 | 100.8 | $53,786 | +1 |
| Portland | $52,280 | 100.1 | $52,222 | +1 |
| San Francisco | $54,910 | 106.2 | $51,712 | -2 |
| Nashville | $46,990 | 95.1 | $49,424 | +8 |
| Sacramento | $49,040 | 100.3 | $48,909 | +1 |
| Boston | $50,680 | 103.6 | $48,900 | -2 |
| Riverside | $49,180 | 101.3 | $48,565 | -2 |
| Raleigh | $47,560 | 98.2 | $48,436 | +2 |
| Atlanta | $46,700 | 96.7 | $48,288 | +4 |
Top 10 of 49 metros by real wage. Rank shift = places gained or lost against the nominal ranking. Memphis gains 12 places. Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025 metropolitan estimates; BEA Regional Price Parities (national = 100). Metros where BLS suppresses the estimate are omitted rather than shown as zero. Full data at /salaries-metro.json.
Is this job growing or dying?
BLS projects employment in File Clerks to move from 76,200 to 64,200 over 2025–2035 — -15.8% , with about 5,600 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted . Typical entry requirement: high school diploma or equivalent.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 (2025–2035). Openings count growth and replacement need together, which is why a shrinking occupation can still hire. Full data at /employment-projections.json.
Salary FAQ
- What is the median salary for File Clerks?
- The median annual salary for File Clerks is $43,600, and the mean is $45,590 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025).
- What is the salary range for File Clerks?
- Most File Clerks earn between $31,200 and $63,490 a year. The wage gap inside the occupation is a 2.03× ratio — workers at the 90th percentile earn 2.03 times those at the 10th (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
- Where does pay for File Clerks fall the most after adjusting for cost of living?
- Local prices reorder the ranking. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ranks #8 by nominal pay but #32 of 49 metros once local prices are applied (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Is employment for File Clerks growing or shrinking?
- BLS projects File Clerks employment to shrink 15.8% over the 2025–2035 window, with about 5,600 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035).
- How many File Clerks jobs are there in the US?
- BLS counts about 73,440 workers in File Clerks nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Figures from this page's OEWS / Employment Projections / BEA data, above. Methodology at /methodology#oews-salaries.
Related occupations
Other Office and Administrative Support Occupations whose national median wage is closest to that of File Clerks: same SOC major group, nearest median first.
- Tellers $43,030
- Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks $44,390
- Customer Service Representatives $44,770
- Office Clerks, General $45,010
- Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks $45,260
- Telephone Operators $41,740
- Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other $45,670
- Data Entry Keyers $41,340
The national wage distribution and the metro and industry tables above are BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for File Clerks (SOC 43-4071): percentiles from the OEWS API series, metro and industry rows from the published bulk tables — how they are fetched, what OEWS leaves out (equity, bonuses, benefits) and how the 90/10 ratio is read are documented at /methodology#oews-salaries and #oews-breakdown. The other sections keep their own sources and periods: the cost-adjusted metro table divides OEWS metro medians by BEA Regional Price Parities (/methodology#burnout-index); the outlook and its FAQ entry are BLS Employment Projections for 2025–2035.
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Raw JSON: /salaries/file-clerks-43-4071.json · License: CC BY 4.0 · Source: BLS OEWS · Cite as: Office Blues OEWS Salary Data, File Clerks, officeblues.net/salaries/file-clerks-43-4071
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