2021 Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
Payroll Clerks
Payroll 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.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $30,950 to $37,720 per year or $15 to $18 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Featured Schools
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
Level | Hourly | Annual |
---|---|---|
Highest (Top 10%) | $33 | $67,600 |
Senior (Top 25%) | $28 | $58,000 |
Middle (Mid 50%) | $23 | $47,020 |
Junior (Bottom 25%) | $18 | $37,720 |
No experience (Bottom 10%) | $15 | $30,950 |
Highest paying states
State | Hourly | Annual |
---|---|---|
DC | $31 | $64,050 |
CT | $27 | $55,940 |
CA | $26 | $55,000 |
WA | $26 | $54,400 |
IL | $26 | $54,250 |
MA | $26 | $53,840 |
MD | $25 | $52,900 |
ND | $25 | $52,720 |
MN | $25 | $52,640 |
NY | $25 | $52,410 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Payroll Clerks are in the states of DC, CT, CA, WA and IL.
Highest paying industries
Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
---|---|---|
Local Messengers and Local Delivery | $68760 | $33.06 |
Grain and Oilseed Milling | $63890 | $30.71 |
Natural Gas Distribution | $60940 | $29.30 |
Water, Sewage and Other Systems | $60670 | $29.17 |
Software Publishers | $59680 | $28.69 |
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods | $59630 | $28.67 |
Other Information Services | $59440 | $28.58 |
Grantmaking and Giving Services | $58760 | $28.25 |
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution | $58730 | $28.23 |
Rail Transportation | $58630 | $28.19 |
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $58440 | $28.10 |
Land Subdivision | $58380 | $28.07 |
Scientific Research and Development Services | $58100 | $27.93 |
Communications Equipment Manufacturing | $57640 | $27.71 |
Legal Services | $57360 | $27.58 |
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | $57340 | $27.57 |
Nonscheduled Air Transportation | $57110 | $27.46 |
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations | $56300 | $27.07 |
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events | $56130 | $26.98 |
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing | $55760 | $26.81 |
Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $55750 | $26.80 |
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services | $55680 | $26.77 |
Nonferrous Metal Production and Processing | $55250 | $26.56 |
Support Activities for Water Transportation | $55230 | $26.55 |
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing | $54930 | $26.41 |
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing | $54550 | $26.23 |
Oil and Gas Extraction | $54260 | $26.09 |
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services | $54260 | $26.09 |
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing | $54220 | $26.07 |
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions | $54200 | $26.06 |