City clerk vs payroll clerk

The differences between city clerks and payroll clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a city clerk and a payroll clerk. Additionally, a city clerk has an average salary of $58,166, which is higher than the $41,602 average annual salary of a payroll clerk.

The top three skills for a city clerk include meeting agendas, city ordinances and payroll taxes. The most important skills for a payroll clerk are data entry, payroll system, and photocopying.

City clerk vs payroll clerk overview

	City Clerk	Payroll Clerk
Yearly salary	$58,166	$41,602
Hourly rate	$27.96	$20.00
Growth rate	-	-3%
Number of jobs	80,796	71,944
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	49	48
Years of experience	4	4

What does a city clerk do?

The City Clerk is the person who will provide all the information about a city's policies, regulations, previous legislation, and history. This position serves as a secretary for an entire municipality and is expected to provide public municipal documents when requested. The person in this position is often expected to know the public policy and have good organizational skills. The city records and all public documents are all under the direct care of the City Clerk.

What does a payroll clerk do?

A payroll clerk is responsible for managing the payroll process by collecting the necessary information needed to release payments. Payroll clerks' duties include verifying timesheets, calculating necessary deductions, issuing paychecks timely, managing payment discrepancies and disputes, updating employee's payment information in the database, and creating payroll reports. A payroll clerk must have strong analytical and organization skills, as well as a clear understanding of the organization's payroll policies, ensuring that the process follows regulatory procedures.

City clerk vs payroll clerk salary

City clerks and payroll clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	City Clerk	Payroll Clerk
Average salary	$58,166	$41,602
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $80,000	Between $31,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	Lodi, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Icma-rc	MDU Resources
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between city clerk and payroll clerk education

There are a few differences between a city clerk and a payroll clerk in terms of educational background:

	City Clerk	Payroll Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

City clerk vs payroll clerk demographics

Here are the differences between city clerks' and payroll clerks' demographics:

	City Clerk	Payroll Clerk
Average age	49	48
Gender ratio	Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%	Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 4.7% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between city clerk and payroll clerk duties and responsibilities

City clerk example responsibilities.

Demonstrate strong math skills in managing inmate s accounts and calmly and effectively deescalating outbursts of belligerent inmates.
Prepare grant applications for water, sewer, EDA and CBDG.
Collect, analyze, submit to NYS town relate data.
Record information into QuickBooks for payment of bills and to issue checks.
Prepare and submit various government reports, prepare various city contracts and act as notary public.
Process summons, court files, subpoenas, warrants, bonds, attorney correspondence and background checks.

Show more

Payroll clerk example responsibilities.

Manage all worker compensation and cobra benefit issues and filings.
Manage employee drug and background screenings, train new hires and verify I9 information.
Process payroll; assist in establishing new time and attendance (KRONOS) computer system; balance insurance billings.
View, key, post and monitor time and labor, absences and leave balances in PeopleSoft HRIS system.
Compile data and enter information into ADP payroll processing system.
Process payroll and transmit electronically to outside computer service for preparation of payroll checks and reports.

Show more

City clerk vs payroll clerk skills

Common city clerk skills

Meeting Agendas, 13%
City Ordinances, 10%
Payroll Taxes, 9%
Meeting Minutes, 7%
Utility Billing, 6%
Office Equipment, 5%

Common payroll clerk skills

Data Entry, 19%
Payroll System, 10%
Photocopying, 7%
Excellent Organizational, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
ADP, 5%

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z