Do call centers pay well?

No, call centers do not pay well. The average call center representative makes an average of only $15.00 an hour ($31,200 a year)

There is, however, some variability in the range of what a call center agent has the potential to earn, with some jobs paying as little as $17,285 per year and others paying upwards of $55,000 per year.

Call center agent salaries vary according to the geographical area, industry, the number of years on the job, and incentivization options.

Top Five States Highest-Paid Call Center Jobs.

• Alaska averages $39,905 per year ($19.19 an hour)

• District of Columbia averages $38,319 per year ($18.42 an hour)

• Connecticut averages $38,008 per year ($18.27 an hour)

• Massachusetts averages $36,818 per year ($17.70 an hour)

• New York averages $36,288 per year ($17.45 an hour)

Top Five States Lowest Paying Call Center Jobs.

• South Carolina averages $24,717 a year ($11.88 an hour)

• Mississippi averages $24,666 a year ($11.86 an hour)

• Alabama averages $23,327 a year ($11.21 an hour)

• West Virginia averages $22,882 a year ($11.00 an hour)

• Arkansas averages $22,212 a year ($10.68 an hour)

Example of differences in industry wages for a call center agent.

• Hospitality averages $30,817 a year ($15.41 an hour)

• Telecommunication averages $29,751 a year ($14.88 an hour)

• Health Care averages $28,928 a year ($14.46 an hour)

• Finance averages $28,730 a year ($14.37 an hour)

• Media averages $27,815 a year ($13.91 an hour)

Number of years on the job.

• Entry-level (zero to two years) starts at $12.32 an hour

• Early career (three to five years) earns around $13.09 an hour

• Mid-career (six to nine years) earns around $14.38 an hour

• Late career (ten to 19 years) earns around $14.87

• Senior (20 or more years) earns around $18.79

Some call center agents receive incentives on top of their base rate pay. However, the average pay rate for an incentivized call center agent (e.g., $12 or less an hour) tends to be lower than the average pay rate of a non-incentivized agent (e.g., $14 an hour).

Incentivized call center agents usually require a more specialized set of skills and prior on-the-job experience (e.g., telehealth nursing call center agent).

Other call center agents are paid per-call or per minute based on "talk time," which means you are paid only for the time that you are actually talking on the phone and not for any time spent waiting for calls to come in.

The average per-call center pay rate might be anywhere from $.10 to $.25 per minute. Usually, the call center agent will also earn a low base hourly wage, which helps when there are not enough calls coming in.