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Hiring a loan officer in Riverside, CA

Employers in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA area pay loan officers a median of $78,710, with the middle half of the market between $47,310 and $123,260. Riverside residents working in business and financial operations occupations report a median of $66,241, which is 16% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a loan officer earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile$47,310
Median$78,710
75th percentile$123,260

Half of loan officers in this area earn between $47,310 and $123,260. A band set below $47,310 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Riverside residents earn

$66,241

Median earnings of Riverside residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 5,895 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 16% 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.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Riverside rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process.
  • Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans.
  • Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval.
  • Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services.
  • Submit applications to credit analysts for verification and recommendation.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 13-2072.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Oracle PeopleSoft.

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 Riverside?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 25.7% of Riverside adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Riverside commute runs 31.6 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 9.3% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Riverside County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 2,725 and turns over 16.5% a quarter, with 710 hires against 373 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $4,186 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

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 loan officers. 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 $15,742 to $23,613 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 loan officer somewhere else?

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

Other business and financial operations roles in Riverside

Related

Riverside is the 12th largest of 21 California cities in this dataset.