Court, Municipal, and License Clerks Salary
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks in Memphis, TN-MS-AR make a median of $40,510 a year, or about $19.47 an hour. The range runs from $36K at the entry level to $57K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 92.18), which stretches that salary to about $43,947 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,274/month, about 43.7% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $41K get you in Memphis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Memphis’s Regional Price Parity (92.18). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About court, municipal, and license clerks
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What this looks like in Memphis
Pay for court, municipal, and license clerks in Memphis runs about 17% below the U.S. median of $49K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,274/month, which is 44.2% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 92.18 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 8% cheaper here. Your dollar stretches further than the headline salary suggests. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for court, municipal, and license clerkss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for court, municipal, and license clerks in metros near Memphis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | $50K | $52K |
| Knoxville | $39K | $42K |
| Clarksville | $48K | $53K |
| Kingsport-Bristol | $41K | $47K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Entry-level court, municipal, and license clerks (10th percentile) start around $36K. Mid-career wages sit at $41K. Top earners bring in $57K or more, a $20K spread from bottom to top.
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Court, Municipal, and License Clerks salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $66K | +36% | 50 |
| Washington | $65K | +33% | 3,450 |
| California | $63K | +30% | 12,460 |
| Massachusetts | $62K | +27% | 4,360 |
| Rhode Island | $62K | +27% | 660 |
| Oregon | $61K | +26% | 1,820 |
| Connecticut | $60K | +24% | 1,300 |
| Maryland | $58K | +20% | 2,360 |
| Nevada | $57K | +16% | 1,250 |
| Minnesota | $57K | +16% | 5,360 |
| Alaska | $54K | +11% | 650 |
| North Dakota | $54K | +11% | 600 |
| New Jersey | $54K | +10% | 5,710 |
| New York | $54K | +10% | 11,850 |
| Vermont | $53K | +9% | 890 |
| Wisconsin | $52K | +7% | 1,240 |
| Hawaii | $52K | +7% | 510 |
| Utah | $51K | +5% | 1,280 |
| Colorado | $50K | +4% | 7,920 |
| North Carolina | $49K | +1% | 5,240 |
| Arizona | $49K | +0% | 3,560 |
| Michigan | $49K | -0% | 5,620 |
| Maine | $49K | -0% | 1,150 |
| Idaho | $48K | -1% | 1,500 |
| Nebraska | $48K | -1% | 1,210 |
| Iowa | $48K | -1% | 2,390 |
| Ohio | $48K | -1% | 9,550 |
| Florida | $47K | -3% | 11,180 |
| New Mexico | $47K | -4% | 1,040 |
| Illinois | $47K | -4% | 8,370 |
| New Hampshire | $47K | -4% | 550 |
| Texas | $47K | -4% | 15,730 |
| Louisiana | $47K | -4% | 2,900 |
| Wyoming | $47K | -4% | 770 |
| Indiana | $46K | -5% | 3,460 |
| Montana | $46K | -6% | 1,340 |
| Virginia | $46K | -6% | 4,610 |
| Pennsylvania | $45K | -8% | 3,320 |
| Kansas | $45K | -8% | 1,290 |
| Tennessee | $45K | -8% | 3,050 |
| Delaware | $45K | -8% | 980 |
| South Dakota | $44K | -10% | 920 |
| Kentucky | $44K | -10% | 2,370 |
| South Carolina | $43K | -11% | 2,020 |
| Georgia | $43K | -12% | 5,750 |
| Missouri | $41K | -16% | 4,760 |
| Oklahoma | $39K | -20% | 2,730 |
| Alabama | $38K | -21% | 2,050 |
| West Virginia | $38K | -22% | 1,590 |
| Mississippi | $37K | -24% | 2,950 |
| Arkansas | $37K | -24% | 2,090 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
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Frequently asked questions
Can a court, municipal, and license clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Memphis?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $41K, rent takes 44.2% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,274/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for court, municipal, and license clerks in Memphis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new court, municipal, and license clerks typically earn — is $36K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,183/month. At HUD’s $1,274/month FMR, rent would take 58% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is court, municipal, and license clerk a high-paying job in Memphis?
Local pay runs 17% below the national median — $41K here vs. $49K nationally. Cost of living is 8% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.
How does Memphis compare to the national average for court, municipal, and license clerks?
Memphis pays $41K median vs. the U.S. average of $49K — that’s -17%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 92.18), the purchasing-power equivalent is $44K — below the national median.
How much do court, municipal, and license clerks make in Memphis, TN-MS-AR?
The median is $40,510 a year, that works out to about $19 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $36,380, and experienced court, municipal, and license clerks can clear $56,540. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $41K enough to live in Memphis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,882/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,274/month, which eats 44.2% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a court, municipal, and license clerks salary go in Memphis?
Memphis has a Regional Price Parity of 92.18 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median court, municipal, and license clerks salary is worth about $43,947 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do court, municipal, and license clerks get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.