What does it cost to hire a payroll and timekeeping clerk in Corpus Christi?

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 $46,590 median wage in the Corpus Christi, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,318 to $13,977 on the first year salary alone.

Hiring a payroll and timekeeping clerk in Corpus Christi, TX

Employers in the Corpus Christi, TX area pay payroll and timekeeping clerks a median of $46,590 a year, with the middle half of the market between $41,440 and $57,460 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-3051). 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 Corpus Christi residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Corpus Christi, TX area pay?

Corpus Christi residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $35,297 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $41,940 as the median of the 38 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Corpus Christi, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 16%, 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 Corpus Christi, TX area the group covers 38 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks at $27,040 to executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $67,360 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with payroll and timekeeping clerks at $46,590 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 38 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 Corpus Christi 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 payroll and timekeeping clerk earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to payroll and timekeeping clerks by employers in the Corpus Christi, TX area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-3051.
25th percentile	$41,440
Median	$46,590
75th percentile	$57,460

Half of payroll and timekeeping clerks in this area earn between $41,440 and $57,460 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $41,440 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 43-3051 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Corpus Christi residents earn

$35,297

Median annual earnings of Corpus Christi residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 16,144 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

Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.

Task statements for SOC 43-3051, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

ADP Workforce Now, Kronos Workforce Timekeeper, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Oracle HRIS.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 43-3051 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Corpus Christi?

This is a job zone three: medium preparation needed occupation. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. O*NET OnLine, SOC 43-3051.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 24.3% of Corpus Christi adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Corpus Christi aged 25 and over.

The average Corpus Christi commute runs 20.8 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 4.8% of Corpus Christi 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 Corpus Christi.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Nueces County, administrative and support services employs 8,657 and turns over 13.8% a quarter, with 2,420 hires against 2,377 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $3,924 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 payroll and timekeeping 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 $46,590 median in the Corpus Christi, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $9,318 to $13,977 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 payroll and timekeeping clerk in Corpus Christi

What does it cost to hire a payroll and timekeeping clerk in Corpus Christi?: 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 $46,590 median wage in the Corpus Christi, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,318 to $13,977 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a payroll and timekeeping clerk in Corpus Christi look like?: Employers in the Corpus Christi, TX area pay payroll and timekeeping clerks a median of $46,590, with the middle half of the market between $41,440 and $57,460 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $41,440 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Corpus Christi residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Corpus Christi, TX area pay?: Corpus Christi residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $35,297 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $41,940 as the median of the 38 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Corpus Christi, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 16%. 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 Corpus Christi?: This is a job zone 3 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 24.3% of Corpus Christi 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 payroll and timekeeping clerk somewhere else?

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

Other office and administrative support roles in Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is the 8th largest of 17 Texas cities in this dataset.