Court, Municipal, and License Clerks Salaries by State

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for court, municipal, and license clerkss across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $52,320 ≈ $25/hr
National median salary $48,700
Total employment 179,750 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +3% About as fast as average
Annual openings 18,500 per year (avg)
Employment 2024→2034 180,400 → 185,900 (+5,500)
Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

  1. District of Columbia$69,620
  2. California$67,330
  3. Washington$66,090
  4. Massachusetts$64,540
  5. Rhode Island$63,290

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

  1. Arkansas$39,310
  2. West Virginia$39,780
  3. Alabama$42,040
  4. Mississippi$42,050
  5. Oklahoma$43,230
#StateMeanMedian Hourlyvs. U.S.Employment
1 District of Columbia $69,620 $66,130 $33 +33.1% 50
2 California $67,330 $63,320 $32 +28.7% 12,460
3 Washington $66,090 $64,680 $32 +26.3% 3,450
4 Massachusetts $64,540 $61,730 $31 +23.4% 4,360
5 Rhode Island $63,290 $61,670 $30 +21% 660
6 Oregon $61,470 $61,300 $30 +17.5% 1,820
7 New York $61,150 $53,500 $29 +16.9% 11,850
8 Connecticut $60,960 $60,480 $29 +16.5% 1,300
9 Maryland $59,800 $58,380 $29 +14.3% 2,360
10 Nevada $59,390 $56,680 $29 +13.5% 1,250
11 Minnesota $59,170 $56,520 $28 +13.1% 5,360
12 Alaska $56,980 $54,270 $27 +8.9% 650
13 New Jersey $56,090 $53,700 $27 +7.2% 5,710
14 Hawaii $55,960 $51,890 $27 +7% 510
15 Vermont $55,870 $53,000 $27 +6.8% 890

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 500 metro areas.

#Metro areaMedianMeanEmployment
1 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $83,490 $80,500 550
2 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $77,860 $74,680 1,240
3 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $77,750 $80,410 1,820
4 Madison, WI $75,990 $66,080 170
5 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA $73,760 $70,070 50
6 Modesto, CA $65,640 $67,460 90
7 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA $64,610 $67,070 2,390
8 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA $64,550 $66,500 1,600
9 Salinas, CA $63,830 $66,140 100
10 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA $63,720 $68,030 280

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing court, municipal, and license clerkss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#IndustryMedianMeanEmployment
1 State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) $52,940 $55,860 46,850
2 State Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) $52,940 $55,860 46,860
3 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services $49,190 $56,290 290
4 Sector 54 - Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services $49,190 $56,290 290
5 Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS $48,880 $52,570 176,440
6 Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS $48,880 $52,570 176,450
7 Sector 99 - Federal, State, and Local Government, excl. State & Local Schools & Hospitals & USPS $48,880 $52,570 176,440
8 Cross-Industry, Private, Federal, State, and Local $48,700 $52,320 179,750
9 Legal Services $48,560 $57,200 260
10 Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) $47,960 $51,380 129,600
11 Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) $47,960 $51,380 129,600
12 Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers $43,400 $45,670 170

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K
24,427
$10-20k
6,790
$20-30k
6,885
$30-40k
22,048
$40-50k
18,569
$50-60k
13,283
$60-70k
9,369
$70-80k
6,509
$80-90k
3,418
$90-100k
1,525
$100-110k
1,175
$110-120k
1,223
$120-130k
354
$130-140k
45
$140-150k
267
$150-160k
144
$170-180k
96
$180-190k
65
$200k+
193

Pay by age band

16-24
$23,713
25-34
$42,062
35-44
$41,315
45-54
$52,252
55-64
$41,303
65+
$18,573

Education level

Regular high school diploma
$34,450
Bachelors Degree
$45,860
1 or more years of college credit, no degree
$40,860
Associates Degree
$40,812
Some college, but less than 1 year
$30,702
Masters Degree
$54,503
GED or alternative credential
$32,175
Professional degree
$78,593
No schooling completed
$35,311
Grade 11
$17,970
12th grade - no diploma
$10,012
Doctorate degree
$32,401
Grade 10
$1,608

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time
84,629 · $51,028
Part-time
8,745 · $26,662

Race / ethnicity

White
$39,630
Black
$39,142
Two or More Races
$41,925
Other
$37,109
Asian
$36,303
American Indian
$48,360
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
$63,294
Alaska Native
$64,782

Top fields of study

Criminal Justice And Fire Protection
$44,300
Business Management And Administration
$54,351
Political Science And Government
$56,784
Psychology
$39,117
History
$43,371
Finance
$55,591
General Education
$35,318
General Business
$86,606

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Active Listening
3.6
Speaking
3.6
Reading Comprehension
3.4
Writing
3.4
Critical Thinking
3.3
Social Perceptiveness
3.3
Service Orientation
3.1
Time Management
3.1
Coordination
3.0
Monitoring
3.0
Judgment and Decision Making
3.0
Complex Problem Solving
2.9

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do court, municipal, and license clerks make in the U.S.?

The median court, municipal, and license clerks salary in the United States is $48,700 per year (mean $52,320), and about 80% earn between $36,300 and $73,820.

How much do court, municipal, and license clerks make per hour?

Roughly $25 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $52,320 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays court, municipal, and license clerks the most?

District of Columbia has the highest average pay for court, municipal, and license clerks at $69,620 per year (median $66,130).

What is the job outlook for court, municipal, and license clerks?

Employment is projected to change +3% from 2024 to 2034 (About as fast as average), with about 18,500 openings per year.