Office and Administrative Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 43-4021

Correspondence Clerks

O*NET task statements lead this Correspondence Clerks card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers, Cargo and Freight Agents, Postal Service Mail Carriers, Public Safety Telecommunicators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Correspondence Clerks: First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers ($70K) , Cargo and Freight Agents ($52K) , Postal Service Mail Carriers ($61K) , Public Safety Telecommunicators ($53K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Correspondence Clerks publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 43-4021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Ensure that money collected is properly recorded and secured
  2. 2. Maintain files and control records to show correspondence activities
  3. 3. Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence
  4. 4. Gather records pertinent to specific problems, review them for completeness and accuracy, and attach records to correspondence as necessary
  5. 5. Prepare documents and correspondence, such as damage claims, credit and billing inquiries, invoices, and service complaints
  6. 6. Process orders for goods requested in correspondence
  7. 7. Compile data from records to prepare periodic reports
  8. 8. Compose letters in reply to correspondence concerning such items as requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit information requests…
  9. 9. Present clear and concise explanations of governing rules and regulations
  10. 10. Review correspondence for format and typographical accuracy, assemble the information into a prescribed form with the correct number of c…
  11. 11. Compute costs of records furnished to requesters, and write letters to obtain payment
  12. 12. Compile data pertinent to manufacture of special products for customers

Correspondence Clerks: O*NET ranks Writing first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 43-4021 - lead skill Writing at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Administrative. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Writing 4.0
  2. 2. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  3. 3. Active Listening 3.8
  4. 4. Speaking 3.5
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.4
  6. 6. Judgment and Decision Making 3.3
  7. 7. Social Perceptiveness 3.1
  8. 8. Service Orientation 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Administrative 4.4
  2. 2. English Language 4.0
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 3.8
  4. 4. Economics and Accounting 3.6
  5. 5. Mathematics 3.5
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.4
National median after O*NET task lead
$46,800
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Ensure that money collected is properly recorded and secured
$47K
National median
↓ -6%
Growth 2024-2034
700
Annual openings
4,290
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
Highest-pay peer · $70K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Correspondence Clerks

1. Connecticut $61,310
2. California $53,640
3. Oregon $61,160
4. Indiana $49,710
5. Ohio $49,700
6. New York $49,360
7. New Hampshire $49,730
8. Maine $49,180
9. Nebraska $49,800
10. Idaho $51,010

Other Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers $69,500
  2. 2. Cargo and Freight Agents $52,260
  3. 3. Postal Service Mail Carriers $60,550
  4. 4. Public Safety Telecommunicators $53,040
  5. 5. Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs $54,210
  6. 6. Brokerage Clerks $65,750

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Correspondence Clerks (SOC 43-4021). The national OEWS median is $46,800 inside Office and Administrative Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers, Cargo and Freight Agents, Postal Service Mail Carriers, Public Safety Telecommunicators. Lead published task: Ensure that money collected is properly recorded and secured.

Employment Projections expect -6% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 700 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Connecticut at $61,310. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers at $69,500. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Correspondence Clerks pay-rank #33 in Office and Administrative Support Occupations

Correspondence Clerks sits at pay-rank #33 of 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 43-4021 · national median $46,800 · middle third of Office and Administrative Support Occupations (#33/54). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Correspondence Clerks salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 43-4021

Connecticut · top state for Correspondence Clerks

$61K published median

California · #2 state pay

$54K · behind Connecticut

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

Highest-pay peer vs Correspondence Clerks · $70K

Cargo and Freight Agents

Lower-pay peer beside Correspondence Clerks · $52K

Compare Correspondence Clerks

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Correspondence Clerks with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Correspondence Clerks full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Correspondence Clerks mid-table among Office and Administrative Support Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #33 of 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Bill and Account Collectors ($47K), Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping ($46K), Order Clerks ($46K), Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive ($48K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do correspondence clerks do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Correspondence Clerks. Leading ones include: Ensure that money collected is properly recorded and secured; 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. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for correspondence clerks? ▼
For SOC 43-4021, O*NET importance scores lead with Writing (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.8), Active Listening (3.8), Speaking (3.5). Knowledge areas emphasize Administrative, English Language, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Correspondence Clerks? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $46,800 as the national median for Correspondence Clerks. The published 10th-90th range is $33,300 to $64,510. Beside First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers ($69,500), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Correspondence Clerks? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Correspondence Clerks is -6%. Projected annual openings: about 700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Correspondence Clerks? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Correspondence Clerks. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Correspondence Clerks? ▼
Connecticut ($61,310), California ($53,640), Oregon ($61,160) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Correspondence Clerks card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 43-4021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Correspondence Clerks. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics