File Clerks: Career Profile
File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.
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What Tasks Do File Clerks Do?
The day-to-day responsibilities of file clerks cover:
- Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
- Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
- Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
- Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
- Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
- Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
- Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
- Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.
Skills and Knowledge
Effective file clerks combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
These are the skills most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Other File Clerks Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Admissions Clerk
- Blueprint Clerk
- Brand Recorder
- Card Filer
- Claims Clerk
- Classification Clerk
- Clerk
- Clerk Typist
How Many File Clerks Are There?
There are about 787,455 file clerks working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to decline by -2.9% over the projection horizon.
Salary for File Clerks
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $28,086 |
| Hourly median | $13.50 |
| 10th percentile | $20,000 |
| 25th percentile | $22,160 |
| 75th percentile | $34,012 |
| 90th percentile | $39,939 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $57,560 |
| Oregon | $49,340 |
| Rhode Island | $48,440 |
| Washington | $47,100 |
| California | $46,920 |
| Massachusetts | $46,570 |
| Illinois | $46,320 |
| Hawaii | $46,250 |
| Minnesota | $45,310 |
| Iowa | $44,930 |
| Wisconsin | $44,650 |
| Maryland | $44,610 |
| New Jersey | $44,530 |
| Virginia | $44,290 |
| Alaska | $44,030 |
| North Carolina | $43,450 |
| New York | $43,060 |
| New Hampshire | $42,650 |
| Michigan | $42,640 |
| Ohio | $42,620 |
| Connecticut | $42,090 |
| Tennessee | $41,970 |
| North Dakota | $41,900 |
| Colorado | $41,520 |
| Arizona | $41,390 |
| Pennsylvania | $41,230 |
| Maine | $40,550 |
| Idaho | $40,340 |
| Vermont | $39,890 |
| Florida | $39,350 |
| Kansas | $39,070 |
| Oklahoma | $38,880 |
| South Carolina | $38,860 |
| Indiana | $38,790 |
| Nebraska | $38,700 |
| Utah | $38,670 |
| Nevada | $37,740 |
| Georgia | $37,520 |
| Texas | $37,400 |
| Delaware | $37,270 |
| Missouri | $37,230 |
| Arkansas | $36,870 |
| New Mexico | $36,860 |
| South Dakota | $36,360 |
| Montana | $36,160 |
| Alabama | $36,030 |
| West Virginia | $35,110 |
| Wyoming | $34,770 |
| Kentucky | $33,530 |
| Louisiana | $30,030 |
| Puerto Rico | $25,360 |
Where File Clerks Earn the Most
Pay for file clerks vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $46,353 | 16.0% | 1.02 |
| New England | $44,144 | 2.3% | 0.50 |
| Great Lakes | $43,472 | 14.4% | 1.05 |
| Middle Atlantic | $43,355 | 13.6% | 0.94 |
| Plains States | $40,452 | 4.7% | 0.88 |
| Rocky Mountains | $39,771 | 4.2% | 1.23 |
| Southeast | $38,682 | 23.0% | 1.08 |
| Southwest | $38,015 | 21.3% | 1.71 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for File Clerks
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $59,480 | 600 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | CA | $58,780 | 60 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | CA | $58,300 | 50 |
| Gainesville, FL | FL | $55,650 | 200 |
| Medford, OR | OR | $53,840 | 40 |
| Springfield, MA | MA | $53,520 | 60 |
| Modesto, CA | CA | $51,330 | 140 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $50,920 | 430 |
Which Industries Hire File Clerks
Most file clerks work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14,770 | $40,990 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 8,360 | $37,940 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 7,070 | $38,030 |
| Educational Services | 6,430 | $45,230 |
| Finance and Insurance | 6,050 | $41,130 |
| Retail Trade | 3,940 | $36,260 |
| Manufacturing | 2,870 | $46,980 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 2,300 | $38,440 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software File Clerks Use
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Document management software: Microsoft SharePoint (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for file clerks tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Contact With Others
- Spend Time Sitting
Getting Started in This Career
Entry-level file clerks positions require an associate’s degree as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Management Analysts (Supplemental)
- Document Management Specialists (Supplemental)
- Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers (Supplemental)
- Archivists (Supplemental)
- Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners (Supplemental)
- Medical Records Specialists (Primary-Short)
- Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars (Supplemental)
- Billing and Posting Clerks (Primary-Long)
Degree Programs
Future file clerks often complete programs in:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
1 programs across 1 majors
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-4071.00 (File Clerks).
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