Hiring a correspondence clerk in Washington, DC

Employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area pay correspondence clerks a median of $48,310, with the middle half of the market between $42,660 and $48,310. Washington residents working in office and administrative support occupations report a median of $54,223, which is 12% above what the metro pays for this role.

What does a correspondence clerk earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$42,660
Median	$48,310
75th percentile	$48,310

Half of correspondence clerks in this area earn between $42,660 and $48,310. A band set below $42,660 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Washington residents earn

$54,223

Median earnings of Washington residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 27,193 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 12% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

Residents here already earn more than this role pays, so your offer is competing with whatever they currently commute to.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Maintain files and control records to show correspondence activities.
Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence.
Gather records pertinent to specific problems, review them for completeness and accuracy, and attach records to correspondence as necessary.
Prepare documents and correspondence, such as damage claims, credit and billing inquiries, invoices, and service complaints.
Compile data from records to prepare periodic reports.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 43-4021.

Tools and technologies in demand

Epic Systems, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft SharePoint.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Washington?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 63.6% of Washington adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Washington commute runs 30.3 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 29.4% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In District of Columbia, administrative and support services employs 47,993 and turns over 12.4% a quarter, with 10,207 hires against 10,293 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,728 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 56.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about correspondence clerks. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $9,662 to $14,493 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a correspondence clerk somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other office and administrative support roles in Washington

Washington is the largest of 1 District of Columbia cities in this dataset.