Receptionists and Information Clerks in the United States earn a median of $38,010 a year. Pay starts near $28,760. The national 90th percentile is $49,950. This page does not publish a state top-of-range figure.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (Receptionists and Information Clerks, SOC 43-4171). Employment 910,180. Last checked 22 September 2026. National percentiles via the BLS OEWS release as republished on O*NET OnLine wage tables.
Wages — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025 (Receptionists and Information Clerks). Entry is the national 10th percentile. The top chip is the national 90th percentile, not a state. The middle half of workers earns $33,960 to $45,130. Hourly equivalents: $13.83, $18.27, and $24.01. O*NET respondents most often said a high school diploma or equivalent is required (49 percent). That is an employer survey, not a license. The marker on the exposure bar is PayCrunch editorial context, not a BLS statistic. Updated 22 September 2026.
Answer, screen, and forward calls, greet the person at the door, and schedule the appointment the office already defined.
AI tools that fit Receptionist work September 2026
A short list of general tools. This is not a sponsored placement, not a weekly crawl, and not a product review with prices. Use whatever your employer already allows.
A general assistant for plain-language notes.
How a Receptionist uses it: Turn a transfer list into steps a new receptionist can follow, then match them to the office's own sheet.
AI inside Excel and Outlook.
How a Receptionist uses it: Summarize a week of missed-call notes before you talk to a supervisor.
Google's assistant in Search and Workspace.
How a Receptionist uses it: Check a published visitor rule only from a source you can name, not from a guess.
Receptionist: the call, the door, and SOC 43-4171
Receptionists and information clerks are SOC 43-4171. The locked chips are entry $28,760, median $38,010, and a national 90th percentile of $49,950. BLS counted 910,180 wage-and-salary workers in this occupation in May 2025. The front-desk-agent page is a different occupation, median $35,070. The medical-secretary page is SOC 43-6013, median $45,930.
The published band is tight
The middle half earns $33,960 to $45,130. From the median $38,010 to the national 90th percentile $49,950 is $11,940 a year. That step is still the front desk. This page does not invent a state median.
What the desk actually routes
A transfer needs the right person and the reason the caller gave. A visitor needs the destination, not a guess. An appointment goes on the calendar the office already uses.
Outlook
O*NET reports projected growth for 2024–2034 as little or no change. O*NET still projects about 128,500 openings a year over 2024–2034 because people leave. Little or no change is not a closed switchboard.
Locked wage chips on this page: entry $28,760, median $38,010, national 90th percentile $49,950. SOC 43-4171. If a sentence disagrees with those three figures, the figures win.
How to do the work that sits inside this pay band
These steps stay inside the published national range. They are not a promise that you will be paid the 90th percentile.
A transfer to the wrong desk is a second call.
Turn this call note into a transfer or a message. Do not invent an extension I did not paste.The visitor came for one place.
Rewrite this greeting so it asks for the destination and does not add a policy I did not paste.A slot you invented collides with the day.
List appointment types I can offer from the sheet I paste. Do not add a type.Careers related to Receptionist
Similar pay, same field
- Front Desk Agent $35,070
- Cashier $32,880
- Retail Salesperson $35,410
- Waiter Waitress $35,230
Where this can lead
- Medical Secretary $45,930
- Customer Service Representative $44,770
Wages in this list are the national medians printed on those pages. Every new page in this batch uses BLS OEWS May 2025. The step from this median to the national 90th percentile is $11,940.
Never used AI before? Start here (2 minutes).
Paste only facts you already have: a count, a date, a step, a file name. If the draft adds a number, a policy, or a product you did not provide, delete it.
Do not paste account numbers, full customer records, patient information, or anything your employer has told you to keep inside its own system.
TODO: PC_GEAR is not filled in this batch. No product links and no ASINs until a reviewed list exists. Do not invent ASINs.
TODO: state-wage table is not filled in this batch. The chips above are national OEWS May 2025 percentiles only. State medians are not estimated here.
Sources
- BLS OEWS — Receptionists and Information Clerks (SOC 43-4171)
- O*NET OnLine summary for 43-4171.00 (2025 wages and 2024–2034 outlook category)
- Salary (10th, 25th, median, 75th, 90th) — national BLS OEWS May 2025.
- Employment — national OEWS May 2025 wage-and-salary employment, 910,180.
- Outlook — O*NET reports projected growth for 2024–2034 as little or no change. Projected openings: about 128,500 a year.
- Not on this page — state wages, metro wages, and product recommendations.
Check another occupation
These ten pages are the next high-employment OEWS lines that were missing as their own salary URLs.