Probate clerk vs probate judge

The differences between probate clerks and probate judges can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a probate judge has an average salary of $58,035, which is higher than the $51,598 average annual salary of a probate clerk.

The top three skills for a probate clerk include probate, data entry and district court. The most important skills for a probate judge are probate, , and .

Probate clerk vs probate judge overview

	Probate Clerk	Probate Judge
Yearly salary	$51,598	$58,035
Hourly rate	$24.81	$27.90
Growth rate	-	-1%
Number of jobs	66,369	79
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	43	46
Years of experience	-	10

Probate clerk vs probate judge salary

Probate clerks and probate judges have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Probate Clerk	Probate Judge
Average salary	$51,598	$58,035
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $108,000	Between $36,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Leesburg, VA	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	United States Courts	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between probate clerk and probate judge education

There are a few differences between a probate clerk and a probate judge in terms of educational background:

	Probate Clerk	Probate Judge
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Law
Most common college	-	University of Southern California

Probate clerk vs probate judge demographics

Here are the differences between probate clerks' and probate judges' demographics:

	Probate Clerk	Probate Judge
Average age	43	46
Gender ratio	Male, 16.3% Female, 83.7%	Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.9% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 80.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	6%	10%

Differences between probate clerk and probate judge duties and responsibilities

Probate clerk example responsibilities.

Book domestic and international commercial flights for executive management; make reservations for hotels and car rentals; coordinate all itineraries.
Escort visitors throughout Garda property.

Probate judge example responsibilities.

Review and organize probate applications for hearings.
Perform clerical work by cross-referencing voters' names with their identification.

Probate clerk vs probate judge skills

Common probate clerk skills

Probate, 18%
Data Entry, 14%
District Court, 6%
Telephone Calls, 6%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 6%
Court Dates, 5%

Common probate judge skills

Probate, 100%

Updated January 8, 2025

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