Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

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)
973,800 0.5 % $12.85 $26,730 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.60 $10.04 $12.35 $14.87 $18.03
Annual Wage (2) $17,900 $20,880 $25,690 $30,930 $37,500


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 183,010 7.81 $13.13 $27,310
Offices of Dentists 67,040 8.02 $14.61 $30,380
Personal Care Services 50,340 8.26 $10.28 $21,380
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 49,870 7.24 $12.08 $25,120
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 41,700 7.03 $12.03 $25,020

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 50,340 8.26 $10.28 $21,380
Offices of Dentists 67,040 8.02 $14.61 $30,380
Offices of Physicians 183,010 7.81 $13.13 $27,310
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 49,870 7.24 $12.08 $25,120
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 41,700 7.03 $12.03 $25,020

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Postal Service 310 0.05 $25.94 $53,940
Scientific Research and Development Services 2,000 0.32 $16.77 $34,870
Other Telecommunications 240 0.21 $16.05 $33,390
Tobacco Manufacturing 50 0.30 $15.86 $32,990
Natural Gas Distribution 50 0.05 $15.86 $32,990


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 98,190 6.99 0.92 $14.02 $29,160
New York 83,920 9.96 1.31 $13.97 $29,050
Florida 72,900 10.19 1.34 $12.31 $25,600
Texas 61,860 6.00 0.79 $12.05 $25,070
New Jersey 49,790 13.20 1.74 $13.49 $28,050




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 49,790 13.20 1.74 $13.49 $28,050
South Dakota 4,480 11.42 1.50 $11.14 $23,160
Florida 72,900 10.19 1.34 $12.31 $25,600
New York 83,920 9.96 1.31 $13.97 $29,050
Kentucky 16,520 9.54 1.26 $11.48 $23,880




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 5,000 7.75 1.02 $16.49 $34,290
Connecticut 12,990 8.08 1.06 $15.43 $32,090
Alaska 2,860 9.13 1.20 $14.83 $30,840
Hawaii 3,540 6.14 0.81 $14.70 $30,570
Rhode Island 3,600 7.97 1.05 $14.17 $29,470





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-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 55,230 10.91 1.44 $14.33 $29,810
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 26,720 6.99 0.92 $13.54 $28,170
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 23,140 6.46 0.85 $13.44 $27,960
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 18,500 8.01 1.05 $14.63 $30,430
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 18,280 10.07 1.33 $14.40 $29,960
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 15,210 5.96 0.79 $12.71 $26,430
Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 15,090 12.48 1.64 $14.13 $29,380
Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 13,980 14.56 1.92 $13.45 $27,970
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 13,830 8.08 1.06 $14.14 $29,420
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 12,640 7.44 0.98 $13.73 $28,560




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)
Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division 7,320 14.71 1.94 $13.42 $27,920
Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 13,980 14.56 1.92 $13.45 $27,970
Logan, UT-ID 660 13.68 1.80 $10.36 $21,550
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ 780 13.26 1.75 $12.69 $26,390
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 1,940 13.09 1.72 $11.49 $23,900
Sioux Falls, SD 1,750 13.01 1.71 $11.66 $24,250
Punta Gorda, FL 510 12.95 1.71 $12.51 $26,010
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 580 12.89 1.70 $13.02 $27,090
Bismarck, ND 800 12.77 1.68 $12.20 $25,370
Rapid City, SD 750 12.71 1.67 $10.96 $22,790




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)
Champaign-Urbana, IL 670 7.00 0.92 $18.65 $38,790
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 6,180 6.44 0.85 $17.53 $36,470
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 4,120 10.05 1.32 $16.56 $34,440
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 6,130 6.44 0.85 $16.29 $33,880
Napa, CA 330 5.32 0.70 $16.00 $33,280
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 5,440 6.21 0.82 $15.92 $33,110
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 820 6.96 0.92 $15.51 $32,250
Fairbanks, AK 400 11.27 1.48 $15.37 $31,970
Danbury, CT 640 9.73 1.28 $15.34 $31,910
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 3,490 6.34 0.83 $15.30 $31,820

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)
Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 2,410 8.24 1.09 $11.03 $22,950
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,360 6.20 0.82 $10.76 $22,380
Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,900 7.84 1.03 $11.93 $24,810
South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 1,870 11.37 1.50 $10.90 $22,680
Northeastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,730 9.95 1.31 $11.54 $24,000

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)
South Western Utah nonmetropolitan area 260 12.59 1.66 $9.49 $19,740
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 1,330 11.44 1.51 $10.42 $21,670
South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 1,870 11.37 1.50 $10.90 $22,680
Southcentral Idaho nonmetropolitan area 770 11.15 1.47 $10.96 $22,800
Northwestern Washington nonmetropolitan area 520 10.93 1.44 $12.74 $26,490

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)
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 60 4.28 0.56 $15.78 $32,820
North Central Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 120 5.49 0.72 $15.71 $32,690
Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area 270 7.69 1.01 $15.57 $32,390
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 530 7.39 0.97 $15.32 $31,860
Hawaii / Maui / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 840 5.54 0.73 $15.28 $31,780


About May 2011 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 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.

(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 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012