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The national median salary for Court, Municipal, and License Clerks is $48,693 per year ($23.41/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $40,810 and $60,840 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $73,819 per year. There are approximately 179,750 court, municipal, and license clerks employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Perform clerical duties for courts of law, municipalities, or governmental licensing agencies and bureaus. May prepare docket of cases to be called; secure information for judges and court; prepare draft agendas or bylaws for town or city council; answer official correspondence; keep fiscal records and accounts; issue licenses or permits; and record data, administer tests, or collect fees. Clerks of Court are classified in “Managers, All Other” (11-9199).
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+3.0%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
19K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
180K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
3% from new growth97% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
130K
$47,960
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
47K
$52,940
Other Support Services
NAICS 561900
2K
$34,100
Legal Services
NAICS 541100
260
$48,560
Employment Services
NAICS 561300
260
$38,190
Wage range across top 5 industries: $34,100 to $52,940 (55% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$17.45
$36,296
P25
$19.62
$40,810
P50MEDIAN
$23.41
$48,693
P75
$29.25
$60,840
P90
$35.49
$73,819
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average court, municipal, and license clerks salary?
The national median salary for Court, Municipal, and License Clerks is $48,693 per year ($23.41/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $40,810 and $60,840 annually.
How much do top-earning court, municipal, and license clerks make?
The 90th percentile salary for Court, Municipal, and License Clerks is $73,819 per year ($35.49/hr). The 75th percentile is $60,840 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for court, municipal, and license clerks?
Entry-level Court, Municipal, and License Clerks (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,296 per year ($17.45/hr). The 25th percentile is $40,810 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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