File Clerks Salary
File Clerks in Dover, DE make a median of $39,940 a year, or about $19.2 an hour. The range runs from $36K at the entry level to $54K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 97.51), that's roughly $40,960 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,470/month, about 53.3% of take-home, which is tight.
Where the paycheck goes
What $40K actually covers in Dover, month by month
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Dover’s Regional Price Parity (97.51). 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 file clerks
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in Dover
File clerks pay in Dover tracks closely to the national median, $40K locally vs. $44K nationwide, a 8% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,470/month, which is 54.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 97.51) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for file clerks in metros near Dover, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | $46K | $45K |
| Pittsburgh | $43K | $45K |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | $43K | $42K |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle | $49K | $49K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Dover, DE
Entry-level file clerks (10th percentile) start around $36K. Mid-career wages sit at $40K. Top earners bring in $54K or more, a $19K spread from bottom to top.
File Clerks pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View File Clerks salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $51K | +16% | 970 |
| Hawaii | $51K | +16% | 100 |
| Illinois | $50K | +14% | 3,780 |
| Alaska | $50K | +14% | 150 |
| California | $49K | +12% | 9,520 |
| Massachusetts | $48K | +11% | 600 |
| Vermont | $48K | +9% | 70 |
| Minnesota | $47K | +7% | 760 |
| Iowa | $47K | +7% | 430 |
| Colorado | $46K | +7% | 1,130 |
| Idaho | $46K | +5% | 540 |
| Washington | $46K | +5% | 520 |
| Wisconsin | $45K | +4% | 1,550 |
| Maryland | $45K | +3% | 880 |
| Connecticut | $45K | +3% | 350 |
| New Jersey | $44K | +2% | 2,310 |
| New Hampshire | $44K | +2% | 300 |
| New York | $44K | +2% | 2,590 |
| Nevada | $44K | +1% | 1,110 |
| Michigan | $44K | +1% | 1,820 |
| Maine | $44K | +1% | 210 |
| Arizona | $44K | +0% | 2,190 |
| North Carolina | $43K | -1% | 1,970 |
| Tennessee | $43K | -1% | 2,060 |
| Pennsylvania | $43K | -2% | 2,830 |
| North Dakota | $43K | -2% | 60 |
| Kansas | $42K | -3% | 570 |
| Florida | $42K | -4% | 6,180 |
| Utah | $41K | -5% | 510 |
| Georgia | $41K | -6% | 2,570 |
| Ohio | $41K | -7% | 1,820 |
| Nebraska | $41K | -7% | 750 |
| Delaware | $40K | -8% | N/A |
| Virginia | $40K | -8% | 2,110 |
| Indiana | $40K | -9% | 1,430 |
| Texas | $39K | -9% | 11,340 |
| South Carolina | $39K | -10% | 1,210 |
| Kentucky | $39K | -10% | 250 |
| Oklahoma | $39K | -10% | 1,440 |
| Arkansas | $38K | -12% | 310 |
| Missouri | $38K | -12% | 1,000 |
| Montana | $38K | -12% | 410 |
| Alabama | $38K | -12% | 110 |
| New Mexico | $38K | -14% | 340 |
| South Dakota | $37K | -16% | N/A |
| Rhode Island | $36K | -17% | N/A |
| Louisiana | $32K | -26% | 680 |
| West Virginia | $32K | -28% | 260 |
| Mississippi | $31K | -28% | N/A |
Showing 1–10 of 49 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track file clerks salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Dover numbers change.
Related careers in Office & Admin
Quick answers
The stuff people actually ask about this job
Can a file clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Dover?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $40K, rent takes 54.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,470/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $800/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for file clerks in Dover?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new file clerks typically earn — is $36K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,446/month. At HUD’s $1,470/month FMR, rent would take 60% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is file clerk a high-paying job in Dover?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $40K locally vs. $44K nationally, a 8% difference.
How does Dover compare to the national average for file clerks?
Dover pays $40K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s -8%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 97.51), the purchasing-power equivalent is $41K — below the national median.
How much do file clerks make in Dover, DE?
The median is $39,940 a year, that works out to about $19 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $35,750, and experienced file clerks can clear $54,260. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $40K enough to live in Dover?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,707/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,470/month, which eats 54.3% 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 file clerks salary go in Dover?
Dover has a Regional Price Parity of 97.51 (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 file clerks salary is worth about $40,960 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do file 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.