Explore national salary, projected growth, education requirements, and career opportunities across the United States.
A concise view of this occupation’s national scale, compensation, and projected demand.
National median annual wage for this occupation.
Estimated jobs currently supported nationwide.
Projected employment change through 2034.
Estimated openings created each year.
The typical education, prior experience, and on-the-job training associated with entry into this career.
High school diploma or equivalent
None
Moderate-term on-the-job training
These are the highest-rated capabilities associated with success in this occupation. Scores are derived from occupational skill analysis and are measured on a 100-point scale.
Based on skills, knowledge, and work activities, these occupations are the closest match to your current career.
Explore the states and metropolitan areas offering the strongest combination of salary, employment, demand, and long-term opportunity.
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Understand the salary, outlook, education, and geographic opportunities shaping this career.
Production, planning, and expediting clerks work at the center of coordinating work, materials, and schedules. Nationally, there are 389,000 people in these roles, with a median annual salary of $57,770. The field is projected to see a -1.8% change in employment, so overall headcount is expected to decline somewhat, but there are still 34,000 annual openings. Those openings reflect ongoing hiring needs even in a shrinking occupation. The role draws on a mix of project management, detail orientation, problem solving, and computer skills, supported by strong reading, writing, and math. Success can also depend on adaptability, critical and analytical thinking, creativity, and interpersonal strengths. For people who like coordinating processes and keeping information organized, this career offers a structured path that typically starts with a high school diploma or equivalent, along with the ability to build and apply these core skills on the job.
Production, planning, and expediting clerks earn a national median salary of $57,770. Within this occupation, pay varies by location. Among the top states by opportunity score, median salaries range from $60,280 in Massachusetts to $63,980 in Colorado. California and Virginia also sit above $60,000, at $63,000 and $61,780 respectively, while New York offers $60,920. At the metro level, pay can be even higher in some areas. The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro shows a median salary of $76,900, and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is close behind at $76,500. The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area reports $63,130, while Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH offer median salaries in the low $60,000s. These figures indicate that geography is a major factor in earnings potential.
This occupation employs 389,000 production, planning, and expediting clerks nationwide. Projected employment growth is -1.8%, indicating a modest decline in overall positions over the projection period. Even with this negative growth rate, the occupation is expected to have 34,000 annual openings. These openings can reflect a combination of workers leaving the occupation and movement within the labor market, even as total employment contracts. For job seekers, this means that while the field is not expanding, there is still ongoing hiring activity. Individuals considering this path should note both the current employment base and the projected decline, and factor that into how long they plan to stay in the role and whether they might later explore related careers such as procurement clerks, budget analysts, transportation inspectors, tax preparers, or gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators.
Location makes a clear difference for production, planning, and expediting clerks. Among states, California leads with 56,080 employed and a median salary of $63,000, paired with an opportunity score of 67.38. New York also has substantial employment at 35,160 and a median salary of $60,920. Massachusetts, Colorado, and Virginia each show smaller employment counts—5,650, 7,800, and 8,490 respectively—but all have median salaries above $60,000 and opportunity scores ranging from 54.96 to 65.87. At the metro level, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ stand out with the highest opportunity scores, 77.42 and 77.27, and median salaries of $76,500 and $63,130. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA also offers a high median salary of $76,900. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH present mid-$60,000 salary levels and strong opportunity scores above 63, offering additional regional options.
The typical education requirement for production, planning, and expediting clerks is a high school diploma or equivalent. This makes the field accessible to individuals who are ready to enter the workforce without a college degree, while still demanding a strong skill set. Key skills include project management and being highly detail oriented, which support the coordination and tracking aspects of the role. Comfort with computers and information technology, as well as solid problem solving and decision making, are also important. Mathematics, writing, and reading skills help with working through quantitative information and documentation. Adaptability, critical and analytical thinking, creativity and innovation, and interpersonal abilities round out the profile, supporting collaboration and adjustment to changing situations. Together, this combination of education and skills offers a pathway for organized, analytical, and communicative individuals to build a career in this occupation.
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