Cargo and Freight Agents
Median $52,260
Occupation · SOC 43-5071
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks: pay and where the jobs are
What shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$45,260 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $46,810
- Median hourly wage
- $21.76
- Mean hourly wage
- $22.50
- Employment
- 816,870
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 43-5071.
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How much do shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks make?
The median annual wage for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks was $45,260 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $34,650 and the highest-paid 10% more than $62,190. As an hourly rate, the median is $21.76. About 816,870 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Washington ($51,590), District of Columbia ($49,660) and Hawaii ($49,660). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Iowa.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $34,650 | $16.66 | $2,888 | $2,502 |
| 25th percentile | $38,200 | $18.37 | $3,183 | $2,739 |
| Median | $45,260 | $21.76 | $3,772 | $3,212 |
| 75th percentile | $51,570 | $24.79 | $4,298 | $3,635 |
| 90th percentile | $62,190 | $29.90 | $5,183 | $4,346 |
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks: pay by state
54 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$44,737 take-home in national prices
2
$44,658 take-home in national prices
3
$42,080 take-home in national prices
Where a median shipping, receiving, and inventory clerk paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 19,500 | $51,590 | $38,930 | $93,210 | $42,917 | $40,104 |
| District of Columbia | 680 | $49,660 | $41,910 | $71,530 | $40,268 | $36,640 |
| Hawaii | 1,390 | $49,660 | $38,150 | $81,470 | $39,833 | $36,228 |
| Massachusetts | 14,370 | $49,240 | $38,820 | $68,500 | $39,276 | $37,138 |
| Vermont | 780 | $49,080 | $39,030 | $64,410 | $40,405 | $41,248 |
| New Hampshire | 4,090 | $47,960 | $37,170 | $63,940 | $40,716 | $39,088 |
| Alaska | 890 | $47,900 | $36,530 | $72,720 | $40,428 | $39,496 |
| Minnesota | 13,210 | $47,890 | $36,530 | $62,770 | $38,705 | $39,247 |
| Iowa | 7,170 | $47,590 | $35,990 | $62,420 | $39,262 | $44,737 |
| Oregon | 11,210 | $47,540 | $36,780 | $65,120 | $37,078 | $35,873 |
| Wisconsin | 20,980 | $47,490 | $36,290 | $62,070 | $38,885 | $41,325 |
| Indiana | 27,600 | $47,320 | $36,490 | $61,050 | $38,835 | $41,611 |
| Maryland | 13,980 | $47,280 | $36,150 | $63,090 | $38,290 | $36,481 |
| Maine | 2,470 | $47,160 | $37,430 | $63,030 | $38,320 | $39,485 |
| Colorado | 15,610 | $47,130 | $36,460 | $66,490 | $38,476 | $37,337 |
| New York | 30,750 | $47,100 | $36,450 | $65,950 | $37,844 | $35,066 |
| Illinois | 33,030 | $46,760 | $36,750 | $63,400 | $37,582 | $37,598 |
| North Dakota | 1,520 | $46,730 | $35,710 | $65,370 | $39,728 | $44,658 |
| California | 88,760 | $46,520 | $37,390 | $64,650 | $38,111 | $34,421 |
| Connecticut | 6,480 | $45,810 | $37,360 | $63,430 | $36,948 | $35,660 |
| Pennsylvania | 30,940 | $45,780 | $34,640 | $61,420 | $37,527 | $38,461 |
| Rhode Island | 2,420 | $45,520 | $35,710 | $61,480 | $37,164 | $36,336 |
| New Jersey | 29,440 | $45,440 | $34,540 | $65,260 | $37,347 | $34,325 |
| Arizona | 20,280 | $45,410 | $36,120 | $62,060 | $37,925 | $37,670 |
| Ohio | 35,880 | $45,270 | $35,510 | $60,740 | $37,753 | $40,694 |
| Michigan | 24,980 | $45,140 | $35,200 | $61,170 | $36,782 | $38,228 |
| Tennessee | 16,680 | $44,920 | $33,380 | $61,050 | $38,273 | $41,660 |
| Virginia | 20,380 | $44,290 | $33,020 | $64,050 | $36,034 | $35,641 |
| Delaware | 2,630 | $44,120 | $34,530 | $60,510 | $35,682 | $35,751 |
| Kansas | 6,530 | $44,110 | $33,550 | $58,680 | $35,961 | $39,926 |
| Nebraska | 5,670 | $44,110 | $34,910 | $57,960 | $36,495 | $40,504 |
| South Dakota | 2,740 | $43,680 | $31,520 | $55,680 | $37,277 | $42,080 |
| Georgia | 28,150 | $43,630 | $32,130 | $60,130 | $35,808 | $37,187 |
| Montana | 1,560 | $43,590 | $33,280 | $59,300 | $35,913 | $37,944 |
| Missouri | 11,650 | $43,480 | $33,290 | $60,780 | $36,010 | $39,651 |
| South Carolina | 14,160 | $43,430 | $32,500 | $59,700 | $36,492 | $38,925 |
| Nevada | 12,390 | $43,210 | $36,110 | $58,080 | $36,899 | $36,907 |
| North Carolina | 20,150 | $43,040 | $32,570 | $58,980 | $35,554 | $37,693 |
| Wyoming | 730 | $43,000 | $34,270 | $65,430 | $36,731 | $39,627 |
| Kentucky | 16,130 | $42,830 | $31,980 | $58,840 | $35,212 | $39,056 |
| Texas | 87,280 | $42,190 | $31,030 | $58,940 | $36,080 | $37,174 |
| Idaho | 4,900 | $41,430 | $30,820 | $58,550 | $34,381 | $36,004 |
| Oklahoma | 6,530 | $41,060 | $31,080 | $59,960 | $33,870 | $38,557 |
| Florida | 44,040 | $40,700 | $30,990 | $60,580 | $34,882 | $33,731 |
| Arkansas | 7,650 | $40,500 | $29,310 | $58,390 | $33,711 | $38,776 |
| Louisiana | 7,650 | $40,180 | $29,250 | $61,690 | $33,645 | $38,144 |
| West Virginia | 2,660 | $39,940 | $30,330 | $67,760 | $33,230 | $37,130 |
| Utah | 15,750 | $39,050 | $35,650 | $53,960 | $32,514 | $32,888 |
| Alabama | 7,720 | $38,940 | $29,870 | $56,160 | $31,886 | $35,898 |
| New Mexico | 3,420 | $38,860 | $31,400 | $59,300 | $32,700 | $35,462 |
| Mississippi | 11,330 | $38,620 | $30,310 | $55,810 | $32,398 | $37,260 |
| Virgin Islands | 80 | $36,240 | $26,990 | $45,280 | — | — |
| Guam | 630 | $32,360 | $23,560 | $53,790 | — | — |
| Puerto Rico | 5,200 | $26,050 | $21,840 | $45,560 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 43-5071. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.