Data Entry Clerk: Job Description, Salary, and Duties
$41,340/yearBLS median
A data entry clerk transfers information from source documents (orders, invoices, forms, spreadsheets) into computer systems quickly and accurately. In distribution and manufacturing, the bulk of the job is keying customer orders and supplier documents into an ERP.
Data Entry Clerk Salary
| Source | Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OES (Data Entry Keyers, SOC 43-9021) | $41,340/year median | May 2025, 127,080 employed in the US |
| Fully loaded employer cost | ~$59,000/year | BLS median x 1.43 (benefits are 31.4% of total compensation per BLS ECEC) |
Data Entry Clerk Salary by State
Median annual wage for data entry keyers (SOC 43-9021) by state. Source: BLS OES May 2025, fetched via BLS API 2026-06-09 (SOC 43-4051, 43-5061 and 43-1011 states and SOC 15-1211 added 2026-10-22). States with suppressed BLS estimates are omitted.
| State | Median wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $55,170/yr | 200 |
| New Mexico | $49,810/yr | 300 |
| North Dakota | $48,300/yr | 110 |
| Maine | $48,190/yr | 140 |
| Hawaii | $47,630/yr | 210 |
| Massachusetts | $47,560/yr | 1,590 |
| Washington | $47,480/yr | 1,360 |
| Utah | $47,180/yr | 2,140 |
| California | $47,010/yr | 14,520 |
| Wyoming | $45,870/yr | 140 |
Data Entry Clerk Job Description (Copy-Paste Template)
Responsibilities
- Enter data from paper documents, PDFs, emails, and spreadsheets into company systems
- Verify entered data against source documents and correct discrepancies
- Key customer orders, invoices, and inventory records into the ERP
- Maintain accurate records and filing of source documents
- Flag incomplete or contradictory source documents for follow-up
- Meet daily throughput and accuracy targets
- Run basic reports and exports for other teams
- Protect confidential customer and pricing information
Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Typing speed of 50+ WPM with high accuracy (often tested at interview)
- Working knowledge of Excel and standard office software
- Attention to detail under repetitive workload
- Basic 10-key proficiency for numeric entry
Nice to Have
- ERP experience (NetSuite, Dynamics 365, SAP Business One, QuickBooks)
- Experience in distribution, manufacturing, or logistics
- Familiarity with order documents: POs, invoices, packing slips
Want this tailored to your order channels and ERP? Use the free job description generator.
Interview Questions That Actually Screen
Walk me through how you check your own work when entering a 30-line document.
What to listen for: A concrete method (field-by-field comparison, totals reconciliation), not just 'I'm careful'. Research shows visual checking alone barely works.
You notice the PO total does not match the sum of the line items. What do you do?
What to listen for: Stops and escalates rather than guessing. Order entry errors compound downstream.
What is the highest daily volume you have sustained, and at what accuracy?
What to listen for: Specific numbers. 35 to 40 multi-line orders per day is a realistic full-time ceiling.
Which systems have you entered data into, and which did you find error-prone?
What to listen for: Real ERP names and concrete UI complaints signal hands-on experience.
How do you handle a source document with ambiguous handwriting or a garbled item code?
What to listen for: A lookup strategy (item history, customer cross-reference) before asking, then asking rather than guessing.
Job Outlook
BLS Employment Projections show data entry keyers employment falling from 131,800 to 98,200 over 2025 to 2035, a 25.5% decline. The driver is order and document capture automation. Plan the role accordingly: the durable version of this job handles exceptions and customers, not keystrokes.
Before You Post the Req
Most data entry clerk openings in distribution exist to retype orders and invoices that arrive as PDFs and emails. AI extraction now handles that capture step, and BLS projects this occupation to shrink 25.5% by 2035. Before hiring, run the math on volume: software handles the keying and a smaller team handles exceptions.
- Manual order entry costs and error rates (BLS-verified per-order math)
- Manual order entry cost calculator (your volume, your wages)
- Free PO extractor (upload one of your real order PDFs and watch the capture step disappear)
How to Test Order Extraction Before You Buy
Vendors demo on a clean, typed, single-page order. Your orders are scans and spreadsheets. Here is the test protocol, the seven traps that decide the result, and how to score a trial honestly.
- How to build a test set that reflects what you actually receive
- The seven traps that break extraction, unit of measure first
- How to score at the line, so a near-miss counts as the error it is
- The questions to ask every vendor, including us
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FAQ
How much does a data entry clerk make?
The BLS median for data entry keyers is $41,340 per year (May 2025). Fully loaded employer cost is roughly $59,000 once benefits (31.4% of total compensation per BLS) are included.
Is data entry a dying job?
BLS projects a 25.5% decline from 2025 to 2035 (131,800 down to 98,200 jobs). The roles that remain shift toward exception handling and data quality, because document capture is the part software now does.
What should I test when hiring a data entry clerk?
Test on your real documents, not generic typing tests. Give candidates two or three of your actual order PDFs and measure both speed and field-level accuracy against a known answer key.