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The national median salary for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks is $45,261 per year ($21.76/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $38,210 and $51,563 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $62,192 per year. There are approximately 816,870 shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-7.7%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
69K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
862K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% 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
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Wage range across top 5 industries: $36,910 to $46,640 (26% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$16.66
$34,653
P25
$18.37
$38,210
P50MEDIAN
$21.76
$45,261
P75
$24.79
$51,563
P90
$29.90
$62,192
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 shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks salary?
The national median salary for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks is $45,261 per year ($21.76/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $38,210 and $51,563 annually.
How much do top-earning shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks make?
The 90th percentile salary for Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks is $62,192 per year ($29.90/hr). The 75th percentile is $51,563 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks?
Entry-level Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks (10th percentile) earn approximately $34,653 per year ($16.66/hr). The 25th percentile is $38,210 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.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.