Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

43-4171 Receptionists and Information Clerks

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

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area 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)
1,063,020 0.9 % $10.56 $21,970 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.02 $8.29 $10.17 $12.42 $14.86
Annual Wage (2) $14,590 $17,250 $21,150 $25,830 $30,910

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Offices of physicians 158,640 $10.86 $22,580 1 152
Employment services 70,020 $10.31 $21,440 2 200
Offices of dentists 65,740 $12.50 $26,010 3 26
General medical and surgical hospitals 45,570 $11.03 $22,940 4 140
Personal care services 40,460 $8.19 $17,040 5 283

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
School and employee bus transportation 160 $20.84 $43,340 234 1
Rail transportation 90 $17.10 $35,570 256 2
Power generation and supply 750 $14.42 $30,000 132 3
Federal government (OES designation) 1,360 $13.98 $29,080 99 4
Pipeline transportation of natural gas 30 $13.84 $28,780 282 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Florida 75,170 $9.67 $20,120 1.055% 602
Alaska 2,950 $11.54 $24,010 1.029% 390
Maryland 24,330 $11.09 $23,060 1.001% 543
New York 82,890 $11.99 $24,940 1.000% 564
District of Columbia 5,920 $13.14 $27,340 0.995% 336

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 5,920 $13.14 $27,340 0.995% 336
Connecticut 13,840 $12.12 $25,200 0.843% 496
New York 82,890 $11.99 $24,940 1.000% 564
Massachusetts 22,760 $11.95 $24,860 0.711% 553
California 130,790 $11.55 $24,020 0.904% 582

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Daytona Beach, FL MSA 2,430 $9.15 $19,020 1.512%
Missoula, MT MSA 740 $8.76 $18,220 1.384%
Provo-Orem, UT MSA 1,990 $8.98 $18,680 1.375%
Grand Junction, CO MSA 740 $9.94 $20,680 1.364%
Sarasota-Bradenton, FL MSA 3,700 $9.65 $20,070 1.349%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Francisco, CA PMSA 9,380 $14.90 $30,980 0.941%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 2,210 $13.95 $29,020 1.105%
San Jose, CA PMSA 7,810 $13.72 $28,530 0.875%
New York, NY PMSA 41,260 $13.02 $27,070 1.033%
Bridgeport, CT PMSA 1,460 $12.88 $26,780 0.793%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. 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) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for 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 mean 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.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003