What does it cost to hire an office clerk in Boston?

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 $50,710 median wage in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $10,142 to $15,213 on the first year salary alone.

Hiring an office clerk in Boston, MA

Employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area pay office clerks, general a median of $50,710 a year, with the middle half of the market between $43,710 and $60,830 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-9061). 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 Boston residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area pay?

Boston residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $44,117 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $55,655 as the median of the 52 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 21%, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area the group covers 52 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks at $39,990 to executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $85,260 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with office clerks, general at $50,710 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 Boston residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does an office clerk earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to office clerks, general by employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-9061.
25th percentile	$43,710
Median	$50,710
75th percentile	$60,830

Half of office clerks, general in this area earn between $43,710 and $60,830 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $43,710 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 43-9061 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Boston residents earn

$44,117

Median annual earnings of Boston residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 34,352 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

Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.
Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages.
Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints.
Maintain and update filing, inventory, mailing, and database systems, either manually or using a computer.
Compile, copy, sort, and file records of office activities, business transactions, and other activities.

Task statements for SOC 43-9061, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 43-9061 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Boston?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma. O*NET OnLine, SOC 43-9061.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 54.1% of Boston adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Boston aged 25 and over.

The average Boston commute runs 30.2 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 18.8% of Boston 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 Boston.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Suffolk County, administrative and support services employs 33,671 and turns over 13.2% a quarter, with 7,434 hires against 7,408 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,207 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 office clerks, general. 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 $50,710 median in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $10,142 to $15,213 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 an office clerk in Boston

What does it cost to hire an office clerk in Boston?: 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 $50,710 median wage in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $10,142 to $15,213 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for an office clerk in Boston look like?: Employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area pay office clerks, general a median of $50,710, with the middle half of the market between $43,710 and $60,830 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $43,710 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Boston residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area pay?: Boston residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $44,117 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $55,655 as the median of the 52 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 21%. 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 Boston?: This is a job zone 2 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 54.1% of Boston 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 an office clerk somewhere else?

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

Other office and administrative support roles in Boston

Boston is the largest of 2 Massachusetts cities in this dataset.