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Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

SOC 43-3051 · 2024-2034

Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions, or prepare paychecks.

How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.

Shrinking -13.8%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.

What California expects of this job

Typical pay in California

$66,886per year

Projected openings

17,950

Projected change

-13.8%

Usually needs

High school diploma or equivalent

Skills this work uses most

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.

1. Reading Comprehension
2. Active Listening
3. Mathematics
4. Critical Thinking
5. Speaking
6. Writing

Pay by region

What the pay actually ranges across

The lowest-paid tenth earn under

$47,211

A quarter earn under

$57,561

Half earn under

$66,886

Three quarters earn under

$80,736

The highest-paid tenth earn over

$94,259

A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.

Similar work

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.

Programs that train for this job — 24

• Accounting Clerk/Bookkeeper Certificate

  Shasta College · Redding · $2,657

• Shasta College Accounting Clerk Apprenticeship

  Shasta College · Redding · $0

• Bookkeeping Plus

  West Los Angeles College · Culver City · $323

• Bookkeeping Plus QuickBooks Series

  West Los Angeles College · Culver City · $623

• Accounting - Bookkeeping Certificate of Achievement

  Cabrillo College · Aptos · $1,991

• Accounting - Accounting Certificate of Achievement

  Cabrillo College · Aptos · $3,171

• Intuit QuickBooks

  Antelope Valley Adult School · Lancaster · $300

• Certified Bookkeeper (Exam Cost Included) - Ed2Go

  Los Medanos College · Pittsburg · $2,375

• Fundamentals Payroll Certification (FPC) and Certified Payroll Certificate

  University of La Verne · La Verne · $2,799

• Bookkeeper

  Martinez Adult Education · Martinez · $1,525

• Accounting Specialist Certificate

  Liberty Adult Education · Brentwood · $3,025

• Business- Accounting Certificate of Achievement

  Mendocino College · Ukiah · $1,438

• Accounting & Finance

  Sillers Institute · Palm Desert · $8,000

• Accounting Clerk

  Ventura Adult and Continuing Education · Ventura · $5,028

• Accounting: All in One & Payroll Certification

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $10,500

• Certified Bookkeeper

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $6,003

• Computerized Accounting

  Softtech · Richmond · $10,000

• Financial Records Processing

  Premiere Career College · Irwindale · $5,500

• Certified Bookkeeper (Exam Cost Included)

  SDSU Global Campus · San Diego · $2,583

• Professional Bookkeeping with QuickBooks Online with Payroll Practice and Management (Voucher Included)

  SDSU Global Campus · San Diego · $4,359

• Quick Books and MS Office

  AAA Institute · Van Nuys · $6,499

• Accounting (AS Degree)

  Butte College · Oroville · $5,742

• Office Specialist

  Mission Career College · Riverside · $8,000

• Accounting Principles and QuickBooks

  Corona-Norco Adult School · Corona · $160