Court, Municipal, and License Clerks Salary
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks in Modesto, CA make a median of $65,640 a year, or about $31.56 an hour. The range runs from $56K at the entry level to $79K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 104.11), that's roughly $63,049 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,758/month, about 41% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $66K get you in Modesto?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Modesto’s Regional Price Parity (104.11). 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 Modesto
Modesto sits well above the national pay line for court, municipal, and license clerks, local pay runs about 35% higher than the U.S. median of $49K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,758/month, which is 40.4% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 104.11) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. The pay premium is real, but so are the offsets.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for court, municipal, and license clerks in metros near Modesto, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | $65K | $57K |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | $78K | $67K |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | $63K | $59K |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | $65K | $61K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Modesto, CA
Entry-level court, municipal, and license clerks (10th percentile) start around $56K. Mid-career wages sit at $66K. Top earners bring in $79K or more, a $24K 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 Modesto?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $66K, rent takes 40.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,758/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,300/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 Modesto?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new court, municipal, and license clerks typically earn — is $56K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,341/month. At HUD’s $1,758/month FMR, rent would take 53% 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 Modesto?
Local pay is 35% above the national median — $66K here vs. $49K nationally.
How does Modesto compare to the national average for court, municipal, and license clerks?
Modesto pays $66K median vs. the U.S. average of $49K — that’s +35%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 104.11), the purchasing-power equivalent is $63K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do court, municipal, and license clerks make in Modesto, CA?
The median is $65,640 a year, that works out to about $32 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $55,690, and experienced court, municipal, and license clerks can clear $79,320. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $66K enough to live in Modesto?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,351/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,758/month, which eats 40.4% 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 Modesto?
Modesto has a Regional Price Parity of 104.11 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median court, municipal, and license clerks salary is worth about $63,049 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.