Career Atlas USA

Counter and Rental Clerks

Median salary
$41,300
Average salary
$45,700
Employment
400,810
Projected growth
3.2% growth
Annual openings
45,900
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential

What Counter and Rental Clerks Do

Receive orders, generally in person, for repairs, rentals, and services. May describe available options, compute cost, and accept payment.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
0.9%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.5/5
  • English Languageimportance 3.7/5
  • Administrativeimportance 3.5/5
  • Sales and Marketingimportance 3.4/5
  • Administration and Managementimportance 3.0/5
  • Mathematicsimportance 3.0/5
  • Transportationimportance 2.7/5
  • Computers and Electronicsimportance 2.6/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Telephone Conversations5.0/5
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
  • Contact With Others4.9/5
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.5/5
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.4/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Service Orientationimportance 3.4/5
  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
  • Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
  • Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
  • Persuasionimportance 2.9/5
  • Negotiationimportance 2.9/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.9/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.8/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Social Orientation
  • Dependability
  • Cooperation
  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Optimism
  • Self-Control

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • ConventionalHigh
  • EnterprisingMedium
  • SocialMedium
  • RealisticMedium
  • ArtisticLow
  • InvestigativeLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where counter and rental clerks make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL3.00× national avg
  2. 2Kahului-Wailuku, HI2.11× national avg
  3. 3Grand Junction, CO2.09× national avg
  4. 4Casper, WY2.04× national avg
  5. 5Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ1.99× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Counter and Rental Clerks

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →