File Clerks Career, Salary and Skills
File Clerks have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $43,600 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 73,440. Wage data is published for 303 locations.
Occupation description
File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.
O*NET code
43-4071.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$43,600
Hourly median
$20.96
Employment
73,440
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 3.88 | 3.25 |
| Active Listening | 3.38 | 3.00 |
| Speaking | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Monitoring | 3.12 | 2.75 |
| Writing | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | 3.12 | 2.88 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| Time Management | 3.00 | 2.75 |
| Active Learning | 2.88 | 2.50 |
Typical tasks
- Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
- Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
- Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
- Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
- Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
- Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
- Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.
- Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
Technology
- Adobe Acrobat
- Electronic filing software
- Electronic health record EHR software
- Email software
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Microsoft Windows
- Microsoft Word
- Optical scanning software
File Clerks salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- File Clerks Salary in TXMedian $39,480 · Employment 11,340
- File Clerks Salary in CAMedian $49,040 · Employment 9,520
- File Clerks Salary in FLMedian $41,750 · Employment 6,180
- File Clerks Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $48,450 · Employment 3,930
- File Clerks Salary in ILMedian $49,920 · Employment 3,780
- File Clerks Salary in New York, NYMedian $44,710 · Employment 3,260
- File Clerks Salary in Dallas, TXMedian $42,850 · Employment 3,170
- File Clerks Salary in PAMedian $42,920 · Employment 2,830
- File Clerks Salary in Chicago, ILMedian $58,320 · Employment 2,640
- File Clerks Salary in NYMedian $44,340 · Employment 2,590
- File Clerks Salary in Houston, TXMedian $41,400 · Employment 2,580
- File Clerks Salary in GAMedian $41,000 · Employment 2,570
Related careers
- Receptionists and Information ClerksNational median $38,010
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and ExecutiveNational median $47,540
- Court Reporters and Simultaneous CaptionersNational median $72,420
- Health Information Technologists and Medical RegistrarsNational median $68,020
- Court, Municipal, and License ClerksNational median $48,700
- ArchivistsNational median $64,550
- Management AnalystsNational median $101,860
- Title Examiners, Abstractors, and SearchersNational median $58,650
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.