File Clerks Salary
File Clerks in Virginia make a median of $39,900 a year, or about $19.18 an hour. The range runs from $31K at the entry level to $57K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 94.79), which stretches that salary to about $42,093 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,646/month, about 60.5% of take-home, which is tight.
Statewide average. Salary and cost of living vary significantly across Virginia. Jump to a metro for precise data:
So what does $40K get you in Virginia?
About file clerks
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What this looks like in Virginia
File clerks pay in Virginia 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 $1,646/month, which is 61.1% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 94.79 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 5% 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, Virginia
Entry-level file clerks (10th percentile) start around $31K. Mid-career wages sit at $40K. Top earners bring in $57K or more, a $26K spread from bottom to top.
File Clerks salary by metro in Virginia
7 metro areas with BLS data, ranked by median pay
| Metro area | Median salary | vs. state | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | $47K | +18% | 250 |
| Charlottesville | $42K | +5% | 40 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | $41K | +3% | 330 |
| Lynchburg | $38K | -4% | 40 |
| Roanoke | $38K | -5% | 50 |
| Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | $35K | -11% | 40 |
| Harrisonburg | $26K | -35% | 70 |
Compare to other states
Track file clerks salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Virginia numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a file clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Virginia?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $40K, rent takes 61.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,646/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 Virginia?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new file clerks typically earn — is $31K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,872/month. At HUD’s $1,646/month FMR, rent would take 88% 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 Virginia?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $40K locally vs. $44K nationally, a 8% difference.
How does Virginia compare to the national average for file clerks?
Virginia pays $40K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s -8%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 94.79), the purchasing-power equivalent is $42K — below the national median.
How much do file clerks make in Virginia?
The median is $39,900 a year, that works out to about $19 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $31,200, and experienced file clerks can clear $56,970. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $40K enough to live in Virginia?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,693/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,646/month, which eats 61.1% 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 Virginia?
Virginia has a Regional Price Parity of 94.79 (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 $42,093 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.