Sales and Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 41-2021

Counter and Rental Clerks

Median pay sits 36% below the mid peer in Sales and Related Occupations (neighbors include Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products, Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers, Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel, First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Counter and Rental Clerks: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products ($105K) , Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers ($41K) , Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel ($70K) , First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers ($49K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Counter and Rental Clerks publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 41-2021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Compute charges for merchandise or services and receive payments
  2. 2. Receive orders for services, such as rentals, repairs, dry cleaning, and storage
  3. 3. Explain rental fees, policies, and procedures
  4. 4. Provide information about rental items, such as availability, operation, or description
  5. 5. Advise customers on use and care of merchandise
  6. 6. Greet customers and discuss the type, quality, and quantity of merchandise sought for rental
  7. 7. Answer telephones to provide information and receive orders
  8. 8. Inspect and adjust rental items to meet needs of customer
  9. 9. Prepare rental forms, obtaining customer signature and other information, such as required licenses
  10. 10. Rent items, arrange for provision of services to customers, and accept returns
  11. 11. Keep records of transactions and of the number of customers entering an establishment
  12. 12. Receive, examine, and tag articles to be altered, cleaned, stored, or repaired

Counter and Rental Clerks: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 41-2021 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.8
  2. 2. Speaking 3.4
  3. 3. Service Orientation 3.4
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.3
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.1
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.1
  7. 7. Writing 3.0
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.5
  2. 2. English Language 3.7
  3. 3. Administrative 3.5
  4. 4. Sales and Marketing 3.4
  5. 5. Administration and Management 3.0
  6. 6. Mathematics 3.0
Pay vs Sales and Related Occupations peers
-36%
vs mid peer median $64,820
This role $41,300/yr
$41K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
45,900
Annual openings
400,810
Estimated US jobs
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products
Highest-pay peer · $105K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Counter and Rental Clerks

1. Maine $46,870
2. Wisconsin $45,720
3. New Jersey $48,900
4. Rhode Island $46,360
5. Colorado $46,240
6. Washington $47,820
7. Vermont $48,430
8. New York $46,270
9. New Hampshire $47,250
10. District of Columbia $53,760

Other Sales and Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel $69,990
  2. 2. First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers $48,520
  3. 3. Advertising Sales Agents $64,820
  4. 4. Sales and Related Workers, All Other $48,280
  5. 5. Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers $41,380
  6. 6. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products $104,920

Among Sales and Related Occupations peers on this card, Counter and Rental Clerks sits 36% below the mid peer median ($64,820). Its own median is $41,300.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 45,900 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential 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: Maine at $46,870. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products at $104,920. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Counter and Rental Clerks pay-rank #16 in Sales and Related Occupations

On the Sales and Related Occupations median table (22 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Counter and Rental Clerks lands at #16, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third 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 41-2021 · national median $41,300 · lower third of Sales and Related Occupations (#16/22). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Counter and Rental Clerks salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 41-2021

Maine · top state for Counter and Rental Clerks

$47K published median

Wisconsin · #2 state pay

$46K · behind Maine

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products

Highest-pay peer vs Counter and Rental Clerks · $105K

Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers

Lower-pay peer beside Counter and Rental Clerks · $41K

Compare Counter and Rental Clerks

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Counter and Rental Clerks with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Counter and Rental Clerks

Against another occupation

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Counter and Rental Clerks land on the Sales and Related Occupations median table? ▼
Counter and Rental Clerks is pay-rank #16 of 22 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Demonstrators and Product Promoters ($39K), Parts Salespersons ($39K), Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers ($36K), Telemarketers ($35K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do counter and rental clerks do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Counter and Rental Clerks. Leading ones include: Compute charges for merchandise or services and receive payments; Receive orders for services, such as rentals, repairs, dry cleaning, and storage; Explain rental fees, policies, and procedures; Provide information about rental items, such as availability, operation, or description. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for counter and rental clerks? ▼
For SOC 41-2021, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.8), Speaking (3.4), Service Orientation (3.4), Reading Comprehension (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Counter and Rental Clerks? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $41,300 as the national median for Counter and Rental Clerks. The published 10th-90th range is $29,800 to $65,370. Beside Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products ($104,920), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Counter and Rental Clerks? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Counter and Rental Clerks is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 45,900. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Counter and Rental Clerks? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Counter and Rental Clerks. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Counter and Rental Clerks? ▼
Maine ($46,870), Wisconsin ($45,720), New Jersey ($48,900) 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 Counter and Rental Clerks card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 41-2021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Counter and Rental 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