BLS OEWS May 2025

Salaries by state

Financial Headhunters presents official occupation data and the limitations behind this core resource. Read the mapping and reference period before using any figure in a hiring decision.

This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.

Choose a state to compare published role medians.

Reading this page's BLS evidence

Which occupation anchors this reading?

The Salaries by state uses the Payroll Specialist national row below as a labeled reference example, not a result from visitor inputs. The Salaries by state catalog covers 389 mapped titles with published national medians in May 2025, while this example uses SOC 43-3051, Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. A Salaries by state visitor's choice of a different occupation or area can select a different released row; no personal offer or vacancy cost is inferred from this benchmark.

What do the released numbers measure?

Salaries by state: For Payroll Specialist in the United States, use the May 2025 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks occupation benchmark (SOC 43-3051): a annual median of $58,260. This title uses the occupation's own SOC line, which still combines different employer duties. BLS reports 153,140 jobs for the occupation here. Employment is not a count of available candidates.

How much room is inside the published band?

Salaries by state: The middle half of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks wages in the United States runs from $47,990 at P25 to $69,600 at P75, a width of $21,610. The distance from P25 to the median is $10,270; from the median to P75 it is $11,340. The upper part is wider. Compare an offer against those published points, but do not assign an exact percentile between them or label them junior, senior and manager pay.

How does this estimate compare with the national figure?

Salaries by state: This national Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks median pools places and employers; it is not a city-specific offer target. The mean is $59,630, $1,370 above the median. The average and midpoint describe different parts of the distribution. Check an actual area row before using the national figure in a local hiring budget.

Which other metro estimates can you compare?

Salaries by state: For comparison with the United States, the two metropolitan estimates with the largest published employment for this occupation are New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ ($63,500 annual median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($65,040 annual median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks). Only metros with a published median for this SOC qualify, so suppression can change the comparison set. Geography uses Census Gazetteer internal points where available, not commuting time or a claim about recruiting reach.

What can the industry rows tell you?

Salaries by state: Among the loaded national industry rows for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, the highest numeric annual medians are Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (NAICS 541720), $91,330; Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (NAICS 519000), $86,630. This ranking excludes suppressed and top-coded medians and covers only the industries loaded for this brand. These are national occupation estimates, not separate observations for this hiring title.

What changed in the published median?

Salaries by state: For Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in the United States, the median was $55,290 in 2024-05 and $58,260 in 2025-05. The difference is $2,970 upward. This subtracts two published estimates; it is not a growth forecast or a same-worker raise. The SOC and area codes match, but the surveyed employment mix can change.

What belongs outside the wage budget?

Salaries by state: The Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks benchmark is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. Guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses are included in OEWS, so adding all commission again would double-count pay already covered. Overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefits are excluded. Budget those separately where relevant; this the United States row provides no amounts for them, equity or relocation.

Questions about this estimate

On the Salaries by state, which occupation benchmark applies to Payroll Specialist in the United States?

Salaries by state: $58,260 is the May 2025 annual median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, SOC 43-3051, in the United States. A direct mapping does not establish a separate salary survey for this hiring title.

On the Salaries by state, how wide is the published offer band for Payroll Specialist in the United States?

Salaries by state: For Payroll Specialist in the United States, P75 minus P25 is $21,610. The Payroll Specialist in the United States endpoints are $47,990 and $69,600, not experience-level labels or an interpolated candidate percentile.

On the Salaries by state, can the industry figures be treated as Payroll Specialist in the United States's local rates?

Salaries by state: The loaded Payroll Specialist in the United States industry rows describe national Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks wages. The Payroll Specialist in the United States national page does not turn an occupation-wide industry median into an exact-title offer.

On the Salaries by state, what changed between releases for Payroll Specialist in the United States?

Salaries by state: The Payroll Specialist in the United States annual medians were $55,290 in 2024-05 and $58,260 in 2025-05. The Payroll Specialist in the United States difference is $2,970; this is not a forecast or a same-worker raise.

Census internal points used for comparison geography