Order Clerks: Salary Overview
Order clerks receive and process orders for products and services.
They typically get the orders through email, phone, fax, or other means and their responsibilities include informing the customers about prices, receipt, shipping dates, and delays.
Order clerks are also responsible for preparing contracts and handling complaints.
Checking inventories, calculating prices and discounts, verifying customer information, and reviewing orders to ensure that the information is accurate are other tasks that are typically included in a clerk’s job description.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual wage for order clerks was $35,790 as of May 2019.
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The median annual wage for this profession was $33,460 a year which means that half of all workers in this profession earned less than this while half earned more.
Salaries in this field vary depending on a variety of factors, including the clerk’s level of experience, his/her education, the industry of employment, and region of employment.
The top 10 percent earned more than $53,240 a year while the lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,280 per year.
Some employees receive a fixed salary paid weekly or monthly while others are paid by the hour.
As an inexperienced order clerk, you should expect an hourly rate close to $10 and earn up to $25-$30 as you gain experience and perfect your skills.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly rate for order clerks was $16,09 as of May 2019.
Order Clerk Salary by Industry
BLS reports that order clerks held 159,210 jobs in the United States in May 2019, most of them working for electronic shopping and mail-order houses, merchant wholesalers, general merchandise stores, or warehouses and storage units.
Those who worked for electronic shopping and mail-order houses earned, on average, $35,180 a year as of May 2019 while those who worked for merchant wholesalers of durable goods made, on average, $39,120 per year.
Merchant wholesalers of nondurable goods offered a mean annual wage for order clerks of $37,470.
The mean annual wage was $25,820 for order clerks who worked for general merchandise stores and $33,570 for those who processed orders at warehouses and storage units.
However, salaries also vary depending on other factors, such as the level of experience and the clerk’s education, and as an experienced clerk who works for a general merchandise store, you can earn more than an inexperienced worker who processes orders for an online store.
The top-paying industries for order clerks were couriers and express delivery services, electric power generation, transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, home health care services, and accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services.
Clerks who processed orders for couriers and express delivery services earned, on average, $58,500 per year, which is much higher than the average for this occupation.
The average annual wage for order clerks who worked in the electric power generation, transmission, and distribution industry was $63,840 in May 2019.
However, these top-paying industries hired only a small number of order clerks and you may need several years of experience working in a different sector before qualifying for a position that offers an above-average salary.
Although a high school diploma is typically enough to help you gain an entry-level position in this profession, holding an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s in a related field can also improve your earnings prospects as an order clerk and can help you advance to a better-paid position after earning some on-the-job experience.
Bonuses, Commissions and Other Benefits
In order to motivate their employees, many employers offer a commission on orders, bonuses, and profit-sharing.
These perks can supplement a clerk’s total cash compensation by several thousands of dollars a year.
Health and dental insurances are also common and as an order clerk, you may also have several weeks of vacation time.
* Based on information from the May 2021 salary report from the BLS. The figures represent accumulated data for all states of employment for Order Clerks. BLS data represents averages and medians for workers at all levels of education and experience. This data doesn't represent starting salaries.
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.