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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

43-4171 Receptionists and Information Clerks

Answer inquiries and provide information to the general public, customers, visitors, and other interested parties regarding activities conducted at establishment and location of departments, offices, and employees within the organization. Excludes "Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service" (43-2011).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,043,630 0.5 % $14.59 $30,350 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.90 $11.60 $14.01 $17.15 $20.03
Annual Wage (2) $20,600 $24,120 $29,140 $35,660 $41,660


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Offices of Physicians 216,390 8.35 $15.01 $31,210
Offices of Dentists 80,460 8.50 $17.30 $35,970
Personal Care Services 68,060 9.50 $12.31 $25,600
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 63,280 6.96 $14.12 $29,360
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 57,140 7.85 $14.41 $29,980

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Personal Care Services 68,060 9.50 $12.31 $25,600
Offices of Dentists 80,460 8.50 $17.30 $35,970
Offices of Physicians 216,390 8.35 $15.01 $31,210
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 57,140 7.85 $14.41 $29,980
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 63,280 6.96 $14.12 $29,360

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Postal Service (federal government) 320 0.05 $28.48 $59,230
Scheduled Air Transportation (8) (8) $19.32 $40,180
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 480 0.02 $19.18 $39,890
Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds 70 1.21 $19.02 $39,570
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities 4,910 0.53 $18.61 $38,710


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 102,590 6.03 0.84 $15.96 $33,190
New York 95,740 10.20 1.41 $16.55 $34,430
Florida 82,180 9.55 1.32 $14.00 $29,120
Texas 63,980 5.28 0.73 $13.17 $27,400
New Jersey 54,490 13.45 1.87 $15.93 $33,120




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Jersey 54,490 13.45 1.87 $15.93 $33,120
South Dakota 5,340 12.64 1.75 $13.11 $27,280
New York 95,740 10.20 1.41 $16.55 $34,430
Idaho 6,760 9.58 1.33 $13.89 $28,900
Florida 82,180 9.55 1.32 $14.00 $29,120




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 4,080 5.73 0.80 $18.41 $38,290
Alaska 2,790 8.85 1.23 $16.98 $35,310
Connecticut 14,350 8.64 1.20 $16.76 $34,860
New York 95,740 10.20 1.41 $16.55 $34,430
Washington 26,010 7.98 1.11 $16.34 $33,990





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

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 107,830 11.35 1.57 $16.84 $35,020
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 41,050 6.71 0.93 $15.64 $32,540
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 32,310 6.96 0.97 $14.90 $30,990
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 27,430 10.59 1.47 $14.60 $30,370
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 24,400 7.78 1.08 $16.13 $33,550
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 22,480 7.89 1.09 $14.77 $30,730
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 19,260 5.40 0.75 $13.77 $28,650
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 17,530 5.88 0.82 $13.24 $27,540
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 16,500 5.98 0.83 $15.93 $33,130
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 15,840 7.71 1.07 $14.77 $30,720




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rapid City, SD 1,050 16.02 2.22 $13.03 $27,100
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 780 15.15 2.10 $14.53 $30,230
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 1,900 15.11 2.10 $14.82 $30,830
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 590 14.80 2.05 $13.85 $28,810
Coeur d'Alene, ID 900 14.58 2.02 $14.30 $29,750
Sioux Falls, SD 2,140 13.79 1.91 $13.55 $28,190
Eau Claire, WI 1,130 13.63 1.89 $14.36 $29,860
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 660 13.44 1.86 $13.14 $27,330
Ocean City, NJ 520 13.36 1.85 $13.39 $27,850
Punta Gorda, FL 620 13.20 1.83 $14.05 $29,220




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 12,500 5.17 0.72 $18.18 $37,820
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 5,100 4.55 0.63 $17.72 $36,870
Napa, CA 360 4.71 0.65 $17.58 $36,570
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 720 7.31 1.01 $17.48 $36,350
Danbury, CT 960 12.26 1.70 $17.20 $35,780
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 1,170 9.52 1.32 $17.02 $35,400
New Haven, CT 2,550 8.96 1.24 $16.99 $35,350
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 500 10.42 1.44 $16.99 $35,350
Santa Rosa, CA 1,670 8.13 1.13 $16.97 $35,310
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 4,700 11.30 1.57 $16.90 $35,140

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,730 6.96 0.96 $12.25 $25,470
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 2,130 6.37 0.88 $13.30 $27,660
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,860 7.45 1.03 $12.90 $26,840
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,770 6.82 0.95 $13.16 $27,360
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 1,540 7.39 1.02 $13.64 $28,360

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 1,430 10.89 1.51 $12.66 $26,330
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 1,080 10.82 1.50 $11.32 $23,550
West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 580 9.52 1.32 $12.54 $26,090
Southeast-Central Idaho nonmetropolitan area 1,190 9.28 1.29 $13.66 $28,410
North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 1,070 9.25 1.28 $12.10 $25,170

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 620 5.89 0.82 $17.26 $35,890
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 740 6.16 0.85 $16.38 $34,060
Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 310 5.12 0.71 $16.32 $33,940
Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 500 6.99 0.97 $16.10 $33,480
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 640 6.41 0.89 $15.79 $32,840


About May 2018 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 29, 2019