SALARY DATA — SOC 43-9022
Word Processors and Typists
43-0000 Office and Administrative Support Occupations
The 90/10 ratio for Word Processors and Typists is 1.77× — this is a compressed-comp occupation where the wage band is narrow. Top decile earns $65,150, bottom decile $36,810. In flat-comp professions, title and tenure define the ceiling more than negotiation does. Push title, not pay.
BLS OEWS reference period: May 2025. Employment: 35,010.
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 | $36,810 | -25% | ~$18 |
| 25th pct — lower quartile | $40,800 | -17% | ~$20 |
| Median — 50th pct | $49,280 | — | $23.69/hr |
| Mean — average | $51,120 | +4% | $24.58/hr |
| 75th pct — upper quartile | $57,670 | +17% | ~$28 |
| 90th pct — top decile | $65,150 | +32% | ~$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.
What it pays vs. what it buys
The wage is only half the number. Below, the metro median for Word Processors and Typists 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: New York ranks #10 of 35 on the paycheck and #22 once you spend it.
| Metro | Nominal | Prices | Real | Rank shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $79,430 | 106.2 | $74,803 | — |
| Denver | $58,450 | 99.4 | $58,822 | — |
| Sacramento | $58,150 | 100.3 | $57,995 | — |
| Kansas City | $54,160 | 93.4 | $57,983 | +3 |
| San Diego | $57,320 | 99.6 | $57,537 | — |
| Cincinnati | $55,660 | 99.0 | $56,229 | — |
| Houston | $50,470 | 95.6 | $52,808 | +5 |
| Chicago | $52,370 | 100.5 | $52,103 | +1 |
| Boston | $53,740 | 103.6 | $51,853 | -1 |
| Los Angeles | $57,670 | 113.6 | $50,781 | -6 |
Top 10 of 35 metros by real wage. Rank shift = places gained or lost against the nominal ranking. Cleveland gains 10 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 Word Processors and Typists to move from 40,400 to 26,500 over 2025–2035 — -34.4% , with about 1,900 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 Word Processors and Typists?
- The median annual salary for Word Processors and Typists is $49,280, and the mean is $51,120 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025).
- What is the salary range for Word Processors and Typists?
- Most Word Processors and Typists earn between $36,810 and $65,150 a year. The wage gap inside the occupation is a 1.77× ratio — workers at the 90th percentile earn 1.77 times those at the 10th (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
- Where does pay for Word Processors and Typists fall the most after adjusting for cost of living?
- Local prices reorder the ranking. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ranks #10 by nominal pay but #22 of 35 metros once local prices are applied (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Is employment for Word Processors and Typists growing or shrinking?
- BLS projects Word Processors and Typists employment to shrink 34.4% over the 2025–2035 window, with about 1,900 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035).
- How many Word Processors and Typists jobs are there in the US?
- BLS counts about 35,010 workers in Word Processors and Typists nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Figures from this page's OEWS / Employment Projections / BEA data, above. Methodology at /methodology#oews-salaries.
About this page
This page reports national wage data for Word Processors and Typists (SOC 43-9022) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. OEWS is the federal government's primary source for occupational wage data — a nationally representative survey of employers conducted annually, covering approximately 1.1 million establishments. All figures reflect the most recent May reference period available via the BLS public API.
The headline number is the annual median wage — the wage at which half of all workers in this occupation earn more and half earn less. The median is the right benchmark for most workers because it is not inflated by the top earners the way the mean (average) is. The 90/10 ratio compares the top decile (p90) to the bottom decile (p10): a ratio of 3.0 means workers at the 90th percentile earn three times those at the 10th percentile.
Word Processors and Typists is classified under 43-0000 Office and Administrative Support Occupations, placing it alongside other occupations in that sector of the labor market. BLS estimates total national employment in this occupation at approximately 35,010 workers. The wage spread shown in the percentile table is the bargaining-surface map your employer operates from. Most employers know exactly where each of their workers sits in the band; most workers don't. That information asymmetry is what this page is designed to close.
The 90/10 ratio is used as an implicit "bargaining power metric" here, but it measures structural spread — not your individual leverage. High ratio occupations have wide bands and more room to negotiate; narrow-ratio occupations are often governed more by title and tenure than by individual negotiation. Methodology at /methodology#oews-salaries.
OEWS data does not include equity, bonuses, benefits, or total compensation — only base wages. The true compensation gap is wider than what these numbers show. These are the floor numbers, not the ceiling. Federal law in many states also prohibits employers from asking about your current salary during hiring; knowing the market rate is the countermeasure.
Methodology · About Office Blues · Meeting Tax Calculator · Daily Pulse
Raw JSON: /salaries/word-processors-and-typists-43-9022.json · License: CC BY 4.0 · Source: BLS OEWS · Cite as: Office Blues OEWS Salary Data, Word Processors and Typists, officeblues.net/salaries/word-processors-and-typists-43-9022
The Salary Negotiation Script at /products/salary-negotiation-script uses frameworks like these to build a case — this is the data layer.