File Clerks Salary
File Clerks in Texas make a median of $39,480 a year, or about $18.98 an hour. The range runs from $27K at the entry level to $62K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 91.49), which stretches that salary to about $43,152 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,415/month, about 49.8% of take-home, which is tight.
Statewide average. Salary and cost of living vary significantly across Texas. Jump to a metro for precise data:
So what does $39K get you in Texas?
About file clerks
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What this looks like in Texas
File clerks pay in Texas tracks closely to the national median, $39K locally vs. $44K nationwide, a 9% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,415/month, which is 50.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 91.49 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 9% cheaper here. Your dollar stretches further than the headline salary suggests. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Texas
Entry-level file clerks (10th percentile) start around $27K. Mid-career wages sit at $39K. Top earners bring in $62K or more, a $34K spread from bottom to top.
File Clerks salary by metro in Texas
24 metro areas with BLS data, ranked by median pay
| Metro area | Median salary | vs. state | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | $46K | +18% | 890 |
| Midland | $46K | +16% | 110 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $43K | +9% | 3,170 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | $41K | +5% | 2,580 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | $40K | +0% | 840 |
| Abilene | $39K | -2% | 60 |
| Waco | $39K | -2% | 130 |
| Amarillo | $38K | -5% | 60 |
| Odessa | $37K | -6% | 40 |
| Sherman-Denison | $37K | -7% | 30 |
| Longview | $37K | -7% | 100 |
| Killeen-Temple | $37K | -7% | 100 |
| Corpus Christi | $36K | -8% | 190 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | $36K | -8% | 130 |
| Eagle Pass | $36K | -9% | 40 |
| Lubbock | $36K | -10% | 110 |
| College Station-Bryan | $35K | -11% | 110 |
| Tyler | $35K | -11% | 140 |
| El Paso | $35K | -12% | 330 |
| Texarkana | $35K | -13% | 40 |
| Laredo | $34K | -13% | 240 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | $34K | -15% | 310 |
| Wichita Falls | $31K | -20% | 60 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen | $31K | -20% | 180 |
Showing 1–10 of 24 metros
Compare to other states
Track file clerks salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Texas numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a file clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Texas?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $39K, rent takes 50.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,415/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 Texas?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new file clerks typically earn — is $27K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,643/month. At HUD’s $1,415/month FMR, rent would take 86% 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 Texas?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $39K locally vs. $44K nationally, a 9% difference.
How does Texas compare to the national average for file clerks?
Texas pays $39K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s -9%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 91.49), the purchasing-power equivalent is $43K — below the national median.
How much do file clerks make in Texas?
The median is $39,480 a year, that works out to about $19 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $27,380, and experienced file clerks can clear $61,800. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $39K enough to live in Texas?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,813/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,415/month, which eats 50.3% 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 Texas?
Texas has a Regional Price Parity of 91.49 (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 $43,152 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.