File Clerks: Salary, Job Outlook & How to Become One (2026 Parent Guide)

File Clerks fall under the Office and Administrative Support category in the U.S. occupational classification. File Clerks earn a median salary of $41,270 per year, ranking in the top 82% of all U.S. occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects -15.9% job growth through 2034, projected to lose jobs through 2034. Entry into this field typically requires a high school diploma plus on-the-job training, certifications, or postsecondary credentials, with specific licensing or certification depending on the state and employer. For parents whose teenager is exploring this path, the most actionable step is mapping the education requirements to specific colleges and majors before junior year — not waiting until application season.

What do file clerks earn?

The median annual wage for file clerks is $41,270. That puts file clerks at #667 on the BLS ranked list of all U.S. occupations by median pay. This salary is around or below the U.S. median for individual workers, so career growth often depends on advancement into supervisory roles, specialization, or additional credentials. Actual pay varies meaningfully by state, employer type, and years of experience — entry-level salaries are typically 30–40% below the median, while top-decile earners often exceed it by 50% or more.

Is file clerks a growing career?

The 10-year outlook for file clerks is -15.9%, projected to lose jobs through 2034. Employment is projected to move from approximately 84K positions in 2024 to 70K in 2034, a net change of -14K. A declining outlook does not mean the field is disappearing; it means automation, demographics, or substitution effects are shrinking the pool of openings. Students entering a declining field should plan for adjacent skills that transfer to growing roles.

What do file clerks do every day?

According to O*NET task surveys of working file clerks, these are the core responsibilities most professionals perform. This is what your teen would actually be doing in this role.

1. 1.Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
2. 2.Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
3. 3.Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
4. 4.Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
5. 5.Assign and record or stamp identification numbers or codes to index materials for filing.
6. 6.Place materials into storage receptacles, such as file cabinets, boxes, bins, or drawers, according to classification and identification information.
7. 7.Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
8. 8.Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.

Top skills for file clerks

O*NET ranks these as the most important skills for this occupation, on a 1–5 importance scale derived from worker surveys.

What education does my child need to become file clerk?

Many file clerks enter the field with a high school diploma plus on-the-job training, though employers increasingly favor candidates with certifications or some postsecondary coursework. For parents helping a teen prepare, the highest-leverage step before junior year is identifying colleges and programs that feed reliably into this occupation — Solyo's college search lets parents filter by major and admissions data side by side.

Related careers your child might also consider

• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
  $74,260 median
• First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
  $66,140 median
• Brokerage Clerks
  $62,940 median
• Postal Service Clerks
  $61,630 median
• Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
  $57,770 median
• Postal Service Mail Carriers
  $57,490 median

Common questions parents ask about file clerks