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Collections specialist salary

Average collections specialist salary

$35,164

$16.91 hourly rate

Entry-level collections specialist salary
$27,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Collections Specialist Salaries

A Collections Specialist typically earns around $35,164 annually, with variations based on experience and location. Entry-level positions may start at lower salaries, while seasoned professionals can command significantly higher pay.

Salary by Experience Level

Experience plays a crucial role in salary potential. Early-career specialists might earn approximately $30,000, while those with several years in the field can exceed $50,000.

Where to Earn More

Specific states, such as California and New York, often provide the highest salaries for collections specialists. For instance, positions in urban areas generally offer better compensation compared to rural settings. Additional factors impacting salary include industry, company size, and specific job responsibilities.

Job Opportunities

Explore various job listings for Collections Specialists across platforms like Zippia. Understanding salary ranges can help you negotiate better offers and plan your career path effectively.

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Where can a Collections Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
63k
43k
23k
3k
Columbus, OH$45,241
Salt Lake City, UT$32,643
Compare salary by company
Vs
69k
49k
29k
9k
Kent Daniels & Associates$54,324
UW Credit Union$38,885

Collections specialist salaries by experience level

Collections specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and Comparably, the average salary for a collections specialist typically falls between $35,164 and $55,785.
zippia
$35,164yearly
glassdoor[1]
$47,632yearly
comparably[2]
$55,785yearly
Salary.com[3]
$40,196yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$44,787yearly
SalaryExpert[5]
$46,330yearly

Average collections specialist salary by state

The highest-paying states for collections specialists are Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California. The lowest average collections specialist salary states are Iowa, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for collections specialists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1District of Columbia$45,762$22.00
2Massachusetts$45,161$21.71
3Connecticut$45,913$22.07
4Alaska$42,001$20.19
5Rhode Island$40,448$19.45
6New Jersey$41,972$20.18
7Vermont$38,783$18.65
8California$42,390$20.38
9Hawaii$41,412$19.91
10Mississippi$36,437$17.52
11Washington$39,448$18.97
12Minnesota$36,655$17.62
13Arizona$35,255$16.95
14Oregon$38,907$18.71
15Pennsylvania$36,951$17.76
16New Hampshire$38,013$18.28
17Maine$36,970$17.77
18Michigan$34,938$16.80
19Colorado$36,866$17.72
20Wisconsin$35,571$17.10
21Maryland$37,109$17.84
22North Carolina$35,284$16.96
23Georgia$34,566$16.62
24Missouri$33,867$16.28
25Texas$34,576$16.62
26Florida$34,237$16.46
27Wyoming$33,072$15.90
28New York$38,137$18.34
29Illinois$35,197$16.92
30Nevada$33,884$16.29
31North Dakota$33,718$16.21
32Kansas$32,243$15.50
33Ohio$32,338$15.55
34Indiana$32,146$15.45
35Tennessee$32,016$15.39
36Utah$32,697$15.72
37Kentucky$31,342$15.07
38Virginia$34,017$16.35
39Iowa$30,195$14.52
40Idaho$31,338$15.07
41New Mexico$31,391$15.09
42South Carolina$31,311$15.05
43Louisiana$30,631$14.73
44Delaware$31,049$14.93
45Montana$30,985$14.90
46Alabama$30,306$14.57
47Arkansas$28,182$13.55
48South Dakota$28,322$13.62
49Oklahoma$28,923$13.91
50Nebraska$28,838$13.86
51West Virginia$27,619$13.28

Highest paying cities for collections specialists

The highest-paying cities for collections specialists are Boston, MA, Los Angeles, CA, and Seattle, WA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Boston, MA$45,241$21.75
2Los Angeles, CA$42,195$20.29
3Seattle, WA$39,650$19.06
4Portland, OR$38,806$18.66
5New York, NY$38,118$18.33
6Philadelphia, PA$37,463$18.01
7Baltimore, MD$37,392$17.98
8Englewood, CO$36,934$17.76
9Minneapolis, MN$36,649$17.62
10Greenville, NC$35,701$17.16
11Milwaukee, WI$35,549$17.09
12Chicago, IL$35,329$16.99
13Phoenix, AZ$35,224$16.93
14San Antonio, TX$35,073$16.86
15Roswell, GA$34,569$16.62
16Saint Petersburg, FL$34,378$16.53
17Saint Louis, MO$33,955$16.32
18Las Vegas, NV$33,821$16.26
19Richmond, VA$33,693$16.20
20Salt Lake City, UT$32,643$15.69

Collections Specialists are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Boston, MA
  2. Los Angeles, CA
  3. Seattle, WA
  4. Portland, OR
  5. New York, NY

Collections specialist salary details

A collections specialist's salary ranges from $27,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $45,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average collections specialist salary graph
Average collections specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a collections specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$45,000$3,750$22
75th Percentile$40,000$3,333$19
Average$35,164$2,930$17
25th Percentile$30,000$2,500$14
10th Percentile$27,000$2,250$13

Highest paying collections specialist jobs

The highest paying types of collections specialists are specialist, credit and collections analyst, and service specialist.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Medical Collector$36,235$3,020$17.4273,797
Debt Collector$33,865$2,822$16.2823,385
Collections, Customer Service$32,870$2,739$15.80161,544
Credit And Collections Analyst$49,262$4,105$23.6818,105
Collections Representative$34,015$2,835$16.3585,275
Collections/Accounts Receivable$38,949$3,246$18.7330,523

Top companies hiring collections specialists now:

  1. JPMorgan Chase & Co. jobs (315)
  2. Conn's jobs (262)
  3. Discover jobs (158)
  4. Citi jobs (442)
  5. Alliance Data jobs (103)

Which companies pay collections specialists the most?

Collections specialist salaries at Kent Daniels & Associates and Goldman Sachs are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average collections specialist salary at companies like Clear Channel Airport and Seneca Foods are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Kent Daniels & Associates$54,324$26.12
2Goldman Sachs$53,109$25.53
3Clear Channel Airport$49,019$23.57
4Seneca Foods$45,461$21.86
5Altec$44,627$21.46
6Univest Financial Corporation$43,161$20.75
7Cozen O'Connor$43,130$20.74
8University of California-Berkeley$42,828$20.59
9Cottage Health$41,186$19.80
10New York Life Insurance$41,146$19.78
11Oklahoma's Credit Union$41,021$19.72
12iHeartMedia$40,950$19.69
13JPMorgan Chase & Co.$40,746$19.59
14NOV$40,713$19.57
15Ent Credit Union$39,773$19.12
16Masimo$39,526$19.00
17Protect My Car$39,217$18.85
18Discover$39,187$18.84
19Western Flyer Xpress$38,951$18.73
20UW Credit Union$38,885$18.69

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$37,000$36,600$36,200$35,800$35,400$35,000
MaleFemale

Collections Specialist salary by industry

The average collections specialist salary varies across industries:

  • The average collections specialist salary in the finance industry is $36,657, the highest of any industry.
  • The average collections specialist salary in the finance industry is $35,484.
  • Collections specialists in the professional industry earn an average salary of $33,834, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for collections specialists

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Finance$36,657$17.62
2Retail$35,484$17.06
3Health Care$34,994$16.82
4Manufacturing$34,760$16.71
5Professional$33,834$16.27

High paying collections specialist jobs

Collections specialist salary trends

The average collections specialist salary has risen by $5,703 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average collections specialist earned $29,461 annually, but today, they earn $35,164 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for collections specialists over the last decade.

Compare collections specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average collections specialist salary over time

Compare collections specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Collections specialist salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2026$35,200$16.91+2.9%
2025$34,100$16.42+2.6%
2024$33,200$15.98+1.9%
2023$32,600$15.68-0.1%
2022$32,600$15.69+2.6%

Recently added collections specialist salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
CBE CompaniesGovernment Collection Specialist .2025 CFCedar Falls, IA06/30/2025$35,625
WheelsB2B Collections SpecialistAlpharetta, GA06/30/2025$39,600
HuntingtonCommercial Collections SpecialistMinnetonka, MN06/29/2025$45,914
CarringtonresHybrid Late Stage Collections Specialist, IIAnaheim, CA06/29/2025$44,871
AlphasenseCollections SpecialistNew York, NY06/29/2025$55,000
Get It-HealthcarePharmacy Collections Specialist-Remote | WFHPittsburgh, PA06/29/2025$35,479
American Coradius International LLCExperienced Collections Specialist-RemoteBuffalo, NY06/29/2025$33,392
American CoadiusExperienced Collections Specialist-RemoteBuffalo, NY06/29/2025$33,392
Light & Wonder, Inc.Collections SpecialistLas Vegas, NV06/29/2025$45,914
Republic Services, Inc.Collections SpecialistLivonia, MI06/28/2025$45,392

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