What does it cost to hire a meter reader in Los Angeles?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $75,140 median wage in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $15,028 to $22,542 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a meter reader in Los Angeles look like?

Employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay meter readers, utilities a median of $75,140, with the middle half of the market between $55,890 and $89,020 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $55,890 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Hiring a meter reader in Los Angeles, CA

Employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay meter readers, utilities a median of $75,140 a year, with the middle half of the market between $55,890 and $89,020 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-5041). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Los Angeles residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay?

Los Angeles residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $41,734 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $54,470 as the median of the 52 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 23%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole office and administrative support group, not this one role. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area the group covers 52 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from gambling cage workers at $39,600 to executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $82,850 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with meter readers, utilities at $75,140 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 52 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what Los Angeles residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does a meter reader earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to meter readers, utilities by employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-5041.
25th percentile	$55,890
Median	$75,140
75th percentile	$89,020

Half of meter readers, utilities in this area earn between $55,890 and $89,020 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $55,890 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 43-5041 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Los Angeles residents earn

$41,734

Median annual earnings of Los Angeles residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 191,585 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Read electric, gas, water, or steam consumption meters and enter data in route books or hand-held computers.
Upload into office computers all information collected on hand-held computers during meter rounds, or return route books or hand-held computers to business offices so that data can be compiled.
Walk or drive vehicles along established routes to take readings of meter dials.
Inspect meters for unauthorized connections, defects, and damage, such as broken seals.
Verify readings in cases where consumption appears to be abnormal, and record possible reasons for fluctuations.

Task statements for SOC 43-5041, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, Billing software.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 43-5041 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Los Angeles?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma. O*NET OnLine, SOC 43-5041.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 37.8% of Los Angeles adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Los Angeles aged 25 and over.

The average Los Angeles commute runs 31.1 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 17.3% of Los Angeles workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Los Angeles.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Los Angeles County, administrative and support services employs 290,205 and turns over 13.6% a quarter, with 76,829 hires against 78,609 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $4,373 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 meter readers, utilities. 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 $75,140 median in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $15,028 to $22,542 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.

Questions employers ask about hiring a meter reader in Los Angeles

What does it cost to hire a meter reader in Los Angeles?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $75,140 median wage in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $15,028 to $22,542 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a meter reader in Los Angeles look like?: Employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay meter readers, utilities a median of $75,140, with the middle half of the market between $55,890 and $89,020 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $55,890 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Los Angeles residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay?: Los Angeles residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $41,734 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $54,470 as the median of the 52 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 23%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Los Angeles?: This is a job zone 2 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 37.8% of Los Angeles adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Price this search

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

Hiring a meter reader somewhere else?

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

Other office and administrative support roles in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the largest of 21 California cities in this dataset.