SalaryExplorer

SOC 43-9061 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Office Clerks, General — Lancaster

Lancaster, PA · 10 metro areas compared

$44,540 /year
$21.41per hour
4,330jobs in area
−1.0%vs US median

At $44,540, median pay for Office Clerks, General in Lancaster, PA tracks the national median of $45,010 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $45,01010TH$29,40025TH$36,750MEDIAN$44,54075TH$52,29090TH$61,720

How pay has moved

$46,883$32,8282019202020212022202320242025$44,540
$35,170 in 2019 to $44,540 in 2025, +26.6% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to decline

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
-6.7%
Openings per year
282,400
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Lancaster, PA.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

At $44,540, median pay for Office Clerks, General in Lancaster, PA tracks the national median of $45,010 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $36,750 and $52,290. The lowest tenth earn under $29,400, while the highest tenth earn more than $61,720.

Employment stands at 4,330, or 17.2 jobs per thousand held locally. Philadelphia leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $47,060. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 334th of 433 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Lancaster, PA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$29,400−34.7%
25th$36,750−18.4%
Median (50th)$44,540−1.0%
75th$52,290+16.2%
90th$61,720+37.1%
Mean$45,240+0.5%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Pennsylvania

Median annual wage for Office Clerks, General, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Philadelphia$47,06045,660
2Reading$46,8203,260
3Lebanon$45,930990
4Allentown$45,1906,240
5Pittsburgh$45,04019,150
6York$44,6203,040
7Harrisburg$44,1006,380
8State College$43,9201,460
9Scranton$43,1604,830
10Altoona$42,4601,240

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Lancaster sit close to the national average, so $44,540 is worth roughly its face value against pay elsewhere.

Published median

$44,540as reported by BLS

Local price level

98.3US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$45,310US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $44,540 a year, 1.0% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $29,400 to $61,720 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 4,330 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Philadelphia, at $47,060.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Office Clerks, General in Lancaster, PA?

The median annual wage is $44,540, or $21.41 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $45,010, so pay in Lancaster, PA is 1.0% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Lancaster, PA earns more than $61,720 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $29,400 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Philadelphia, at $47,060 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 4,330 jobs in this occupation in Lancaster, PA. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.

Office Clerks, General Salary in Lancaster, PA (2025): $44,540 Median | Salary Explorer