File Clerks Salary
File Clerks in Lafayette, LA make a median of $31,760 a year, or about $15.27 an hour. The range runs from $23K at the entry level to $41K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 87.21), which stretches that salary to about $36,418 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,019/month, about 47% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $32K get you in Lafayette?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Lafayette’s Regional Price Parity (87.21). 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 Lafayette
Pay for file clerks in Lafayette runs about 27% below the U.S. median of $44K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,019/month, which is 45.9% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 87.21 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 13% 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 file clerkss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for file clerks in metros near Lafayette, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans-Metairie | $33K | $35K |
| Baton Rouge | $32K | $35K |
| Slidell-Mandeville-Covington | $27K | $29K |
| Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | $27K | $32K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Lafayette, LA
Entry-level file clerks (10th percentile) start around $23K. Mid-career wages sit at $32K. Top earners bring in $41K or more, a $18K 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 Lafayette numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a file clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Lafayette?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $32K, rent takes 45.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,019/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $700/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for file clerks in Lafayette?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new file clerks typically earn — is $23K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,367/month. At HUD’s $1,019/month FMR, rent would take 75% 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 Lafayette?
Local pay runs 27% below the national median — $32K here vs. $44K nationally. Cost of living is 13% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.
How does Lafayette compare to the national average for file clerks?
Lafayette pays $32K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s -27%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 87.21), the purchasing-power equivalent is $36K — below the national median.
How much do file clerks make in Lafayette, LA?
The median is $31,760 a year, that works out to about $15 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $22,780, and experienced file clerks can clear $41,130. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $32K enough to live in Lafayette?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,221/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,019/month, which eats 45.9% 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 Lafayette?
Lafayette has a Regional Price Parity of 87.21 (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 $36,418 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.