Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners

More data on this career

Pay by education level. Among full-time, year-round court reporters and simultaneous captioners ages 25 to 64, median yearly pay is $69,000 with some college or an associate's degree and $58,900 with a bachelor's degree (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024 dollars). Pay differs for many reasons besides education, such as experience, employer and location.

Industries that employ this career. The largest shares of court reporters and simultaneous captioners work in Administrative, Support and Waste Management (50%), Public Administration (37%), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (7%) and Information (6%) (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024).

Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most court reporters and simultaneous captioners are Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (37% of the jobs counted, median pay $78,430), Business Support Services (30% of the jobs counted, median pay $58,760), State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (30% of the jobs counted, median pay $78,300), Motion Picture and Video Industries (2% of the jobs counted) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals ($78,430), State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals ($78,300), Business Support Services ($58,760). Pay differs by industry for many reasons, including the mix of jobs and where employers are located.

Injury and illness rates. For the broader group "Miscellaneous media and communication workers", which includes this career (BLS did not publish enough cases for this exact occupation), employers reported 51.1 nonfatal injury and illness cases with days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with 94.6 for all U.S. workers; the median case kept the worker away 8 days (all workers: 8) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023-2024). Rates reflect the work setting as well as the occupation.

Union membership. In the broad group "Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media", which includes this career, 6.6% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $2,032 for union members and $1,387 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to court reporters and simultaneous captioners.

Employer benefits. In the broad group "Professional and related", which includes this career, 86% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 85% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 92% had paid sick leave, 73% paid vacation and 78% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to court reporters and simultaneous captioners, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $74.42 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Professional and related" in June 2026 ($50.37 in wages and salaries and $24.06 in benefits, 32.3% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).

Work environment. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, the conditions most often placed at the two highest levels for court reporters and simultaneous captioners are: e-mail (100%), spend time sitting (100%), spend time making repetitive motions (100%), importance of being exact or accurate (100%), importance of repeating same tasks (100%), time pressure (96%). Each percentage is the share of respondents choosing the top two levels for that condition (for example 'most of the time' or 'continually'), so it describes how common the condition is in the job, not how a particular workplace is (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).

Typical preparation. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, for related work experience, the most common answer (39% of 23 respondents) was "none"; for on-site or in-plant training, the most common answer (35% of 23 respondents) was "up to and including 1 month"; for on-the-job training, the most common answer (30% of 23 respondents) was "anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month". These are what workers report is needed to do the job; employers' requirements and individual paths vary (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).

Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to court reporters and simultaneous captioners in the work done and the skills used: Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Court, Municipal, and License Clerks, Paralegals and Legal Assistants, Word Processors and Typists, File Clerks, Correspondence Clerks, Medical Transcriptionists, Office Clerks, General (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).

Compare court reporters and simultaneous captioners with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →