Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks Salary
Office and Administrative Support Occupations · 153K employed in the U.S.
Median annual
$58,260
Median hourly
$28
Average annual
$59,630
Typical range
$39,500–$81,350
Pay distribution
10th to 90th percentile, with the median marked.
What this role pays
The median annual salary for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is $58,260 as of May 2025, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. That works out to about $28 an hour at a full-time schedule.
Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission.
Most earn between $39,500 and $81,350 a year. There are roughly 153K people employed as payroll and timekeeping clerks in the United States. Use the state and metro pages below to see how pay changes by location, and the calculator to convert any hourly or annual figure.
Salary calculator
Convert your pay and see where it lands for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.
- Hourly
- $28.01
- Daily
- $224
- Weekly
- $1,120
- Bi-weekly
- $2,241
- Monthly
- $4,855
- Annual
- $58,260
$58,260 a year is around the 50th percentile for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerkss. The median is $58,260.
Highest-paying states
Median annual wage by state.
- 1District of Columbia$74,670
- 2California$65,340
- 3Washington$64,560
- 4Colorado$64,140
- 5Massachusetts$63,670
- 6New Hampshire$63,090
- 7Alaska$62,210
- 8Connecticut$62,200
- 9Hawaii$62,070
- 10Illinois$61,390
- 11Minnesota$61,320
- 12New York$61,040
Top-paying metro areas
Median annual wage by metro area.
- 1San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$80,510
- 2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$77,950
- 3Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$68,870
- 4Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$68,380
- 5Kahului-Wailuku, HI$67,740
- 6Fort Collins-Loveland, CO$67,710
- 7Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$66,930
- 8Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$66,800
- 9Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA$66,650
- 10Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$66,630
- 11Boulder, CO$66,140
- 12Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$65,810
Related job titles
Employers advertise Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks roles under these titles.
Related occupations
- Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping$50,610
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks$50,670
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers$69,500
- Billing and Posting Clerks$48,500
- Office Clerks, General$45,010
- Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs$54,210
- Administrative Services Managers$114,130
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive$47,540
What a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks does
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
- Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
- Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times.
- Conduct verifications of employment.
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
- Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks make?
- The median annual wage for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is $58,260 ($28 per hour). Pay ranges from about $39,500 at the 10th percentile to $81,350 at the 90th percentile.
- What is the average salary for a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks?
- The average (mean) annual salary is $59,630, which is higher than the median because a small number of high earners pull the average up.
- Which state pays Payroll and Timekeeping Clerkss the most?
- District of Columbia has the highest median annual wage for this occupation at $74,670.
- Is Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks a growing occupation?
- BLS employment data for May 2025 counts about 153K people in this occupation. Projected growth is published separately in the BLS Employment Projections program.
- What does a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks do?
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.; Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.; Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records..