Clerical worker vs administrative clerk

The differences between clerical workers and administrative clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clerical worker and an administrative clerk. Additionally, an administrative clerk has an average salary of $32,327, which is higher than the $31,390 average annual salary of a clerical worker.

The top three skills for a clerical worker include data entry, scheduling appointments and customer service. The most important skills for an administrative clerk are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Clerical worker vs administrative clerk overview

	Clerical Worker	Administrative Clerk
Yearly salary	$31,390	$32,327
Hourly rate	$15.09	$15.54
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	68,947	137,639
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

Clerical worker vs administrative clerk salary

Clerical workers and administrative clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clerical Worker	Administrative Clerk
Average salary	$31,390	$32,327
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $39,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between clerical worker and administrative clerk education

There are a few differences between a clerical worker and an administrative clerk in terms of educational background:

	Clerical Worker	Administrative Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Clerical worker vs administrative clerk demographics

Here are the differences between clerical workers' and administrative clerks' demographics:

	Clerical Worker	Administrative Clerk
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 23.0% Female, 77.0%	Male, 27.9% Female, 72.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 7.7% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between clerical worker and administrative clerk duties and responsibilities

Clerical worker example responsibilities.

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Handle customers at the front windows
Schedule contracts of windows sell with installers.
Prepare court subpoenas and criminal dockets for court.
Update files by using QuickBooks and answer the telephone and take brief messages.
Type, format, proofread, and edit correspondence and other documents, using computers or typewriters.

Administrative clerk example responsibilities.

Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
Assist teachers with GED packets for students.
Ship orders via customers freight line request (ex.
Schedule and administer the GED exam upon the completion of the inmate's profile.
Enter data in spreadsheets for reports, auction items, payroll and monthly utility accounts.
Process all DMV registration, titles, title flips and plates using CVR and TriVin programs.

Clerical worker vs administrative clerk skills

Common clerical worker skills

Data Entry, 24%
Scheduling Appointments, 18%
Customer Service, 11%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Database Systems, 5%
Front Desk, 4%

Common administrative clerk skills

Customer Service, 17%
Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 9%
Word Processing, 6%
Payroll Data, 5%
Database Systems, 4%

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Clerical Worker
Clerical Worker vs Administrative Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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