File Clerks Salary
File Clerks in El Centro, CA make a median of $37,170 a year, or about $17.87 an hour. The range runs from $35K at the entry level to $50K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.17), that's roughly $39,056 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,362/month, about 53.1% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $37K get you in El Centro?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by El Centro’s Regional Price Parity (95.17). 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
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What this looks like in El Centro
Pay for file clerks in El Centro runs about 15% below the U.S. median of $44K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,362/month, which is 52.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.17) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for file clerkss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for file clerks in metros near El Centro, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Chico | $39K | $39K |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | $48K | $43K |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | $55K | $47K |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | $48K | $43K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, El Centro, CA
Entry-level file clerks (10th percentile) start around $35K. Mid-career wages sit at $37K. Top earners bring in $50K or more, a $15K 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
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 El Centro numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a file clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in El Centro?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $37K, rent takes 52.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,362/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 El Centro?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new file clerks typically earn — is $35K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,085/month. At HUD’s $1,362/month FMR, rent would take 65% 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 El Centro?
Local pay runs 15% below the national median — $37K here vs. $44K nationally.
How does El Centro compare to the national average for file clerks?
El Centro pays $37K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s -15%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.17), the purchasing-power equivalent is $39K — below the national median.
How much do file clerks make in El Centro, CA?
The median is $37,170 a year, that works out to about $18 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $34,750, and experienced file clerks can clear $49,700. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $37K enough to live in El Centro?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,603/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,362/month, which eats 52.3% 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 El Centro?
El Centro has a Regional Price Parity of 95.17 (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 $39,056 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.