Order Clerks: Job Description
Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Generally receives orders via mail, phone, fax, or other electronic means. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.
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What Do Order Clerks Do?
Typical responsibilities of order clerks span:
- Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.
- Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.
- Recommend merchandise or services that will meet customers' needs.
- Inspect outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications.
- Receive and respond to customer complaints.
- Check inventory records to determine availability of requested merchandise.
- Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary.
- Compute total charges for merchandise or services and shipping charges.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Effective order clerks rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The abilities most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Types of Order Clerks Jobs
Common job titles for this role include:
- Ad Taker (Advertising Taker)
- Advertising Clerk (Ad Clerk)
- Advertising Space Clerk (Ad Space Clerk)
- Back Order Clerk
- Blood Bank Credit Clerk
- Blood Bank Order Control Clerk
- Catalogue Clerk
- Classified Ad Clerk (Classified Advertisement Clerk)
How Many Order Clerks Are There?
There are about 1,253,974 order clerks working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -0.5% over the projection horizon.
Order Clerks Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $58,253 |
| Hourly median | $28.01 |
| 10th percentile | $34,439 |
| 25th percentile | $46,346 |
| 75th percentile | $70,160 |
| 90th percentile | $82,067 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Order Clerks Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $54,350 |
| Vermont | $49,810 |
| New Hampshire | $49,200 |
| Oregon | $48,530 |
| Rhode Island | $48,080 |
| District of Columbia | $47,930 |
| Colorado | $47,100 |
| Minnesota | $47,020 |
| New York | $47,010 |
| Washington | $46,740 |
| California | $46,620 |
| Montana | $46,490 |
| Arizona | $46,210 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,020 |
| South Dakota | $45,900 |
| Maine | $45,700 |
| Hawaii | $45,410 |
| Michigan | $45,100 |
| Illinois | $44,790 |
| Ohio | $44,780 |
| Maryland | $44,490 |
| Florida | $44,450 |
| Alabama | $44,260 |
| West Virginia | $44,160 |
| Oklahoma | $44,110 |
| New Jersey | $43,850 |
| Indiana | $43,360 |
| North Carolina | $42,910 |
| Connecticut | $42,860 |
| Wisconsin | $42,660 |
| Nevada | $42,410 |
| Missouri | $41,970 |
| Utah | $41,960 |
| Kansas | $41,880 |
| Iowa | $41,790 |
| Georgia | $41,600 |
| Mississippi | $41,500 |
| Alaska | $41,110 |
| Virginia | $41,090 |
| South Carolina | $40,560 |
| Idaho | $40,530 |
| Arkansas | $40,130 |
| Nebraska | $40,060 |
| Texas | $39,960 |
| Delaware | $39,770 |
| Kentucky | $39,660 |
| Tennessee | $38,890 |
| New Mexico | $37,350 |
| Louisiana | $35,360 |
| Puerto Rico | $29,850 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Compensation for order clerks shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $48,921 | 3.6% | 0.83 |
| Far Western US | $46,483 | 24.8% | 1.64 |
| Middle Atlantic | $45,419 | 14.3% | 1.05 |
| Rocky Mountains | $45,130 | 3.6% | 1.01 |
| Great Lakes | $44,394 | 17.4% | 1.26 |
| Plains States | $43,137 | 5.2% | 0.85 |
| Southeast | $41,814 | 19.2% | 0.85 |
| Southwest | $41,480 | 11.6% | 1.14 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Order Clerks
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $59,940 | 560 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $57,270 | 950 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $54,620 | 110 |
| Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $51,300 | |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $51,180 | 1,460 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $50,900 | 760 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | CO | $50,850 | 120 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | CT | $50,760 | 190 |
Industry Breakdown
The bulk of order clerks work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale Trade | 22,920 | $46,630 |
| Retail Trade | 16,470 | $42,270 |
| Manufacturing | 14,120 | $46,350 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 7,170 | $43,920 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 7,150 | $44,100 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4,170 | $46,910 |
| Information | 2,250 | $50,330 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 2,180 | $46,330 |
Order Clerks work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Apple Safari (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Microsoft Edge (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)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Mozilla Firefox (hot technology)
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)
Work Environment
Daily working conditions for order clerks reflects the following characteristics:
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Telephone Conversations
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
How to Become Order Clerks
Most order clerks positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Purchasing Managers (Supplemental)
- Postmasters and Mail Superintendents (Supplemental)
- Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products (Supplemental)
- Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers (Supplemental)
- Cashiers (Supplemental)
- Counter and Rental Clerks (Primary-Long)
- Advertising Sales Agents (Supplemental)
Where to Study
Future order clerks often complete programs in:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
3 programs across 1 majors
Sources
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: 43-4151.00 (Order Clerks).
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