Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Generally receives orders via mail, phone, fax, or other electronic means. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.
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Licensing, certifications and working conditions
State licensing. CareerOneStop's licensing data records no state license for Order Clerks, which usually means it is not a licensed occupation. Requirements can still vary by employer and state.
Working conditions. On average, workers stand or walk about 1.0 hours and sit about 6.9 hours per day. For 79.7% of workers the job requires sedentary strength. Shares of workers who interact with the general public (82.6%), have a consistently fast work pace (47.6%), cannot pause their work (18.7%), and are exposed to the outdoors (3.8%). From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Requirements Survey (2023 estimates); figures describe the occupation on average.
Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →
More data on this career
Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most order clerks are Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (9% of the jobs counted, median pay $48,400), Food and Beverage Retailers (9% of the jobs counted, median pay $47,490), Warehousing and Storage (6% of the jobs counted, median pay $45,030), Business Support Services (5% of the jobs counted, median pay $45,850) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers ($54,840), Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers ($52,920), Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods ($48,400). 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 "Information and record clerks", which includes this career (BLS did not publish enough cases for this exact occupation), employers reported 35.4 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 6 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 "Office and administrative support", which includes this career, 8.7% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $1,145 for union members and $963 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to order clerks.
Employer benefits. In the broad group "Office and administrative support", which includes this career, 78% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 80% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 88% had paid sick leave, 88% paid vacation and 90% 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 order clerks, 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 $38.27 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Office and administrative support" in June 2026 ($25.47 in wages and salaries and $12.80 in benefits, 33.5% 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 order clerks are: indoors, environmentally controlled (99%), determine tasks, priorities and goals (99%), telephone conversations (89%), face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams (88%), spend time sitting (87%), time pressure (85%). 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).
Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to order clerks in the work done and the skills used: Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, Postal Service Clerks, Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel, Customer Service Representatives, Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks, Procurement Clerks, Counter and Rental Clerks, Stockers and Order Fillers (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Pay by state. See what order clerks earn in each state, with the pay range and number of jobs: Order Clerks salary by state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
Compare order clerks 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 →
Receptionist
CIP 52.0406