Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks vs Order Clerks: $51K vs $46K Median Pay

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks vs Order Clerks: what changes?

Consider Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks if you want to compute, classify, and record numerical data to keep financial records complete. Consider Order Clerks if you would rather receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Both list some college, no degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks and Order Clerks. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

National median pay (2025): $50,670
Route into the job: Some college, no degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 144,100

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 5.6% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks brief

Order Clerks

National median pay (2025): $46,170
Route into the job: Some college, no degree; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 6,300

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 17.5% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Order Clerks brief

How the national numbers differ

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks has the edge on annual openings

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is at 144,100 annual openings, compared with 6,300 annual openings for Order Clerks.

Typical preparation differs.

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks: Some college, no degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Order Clerks: Some college, no degree; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks has the edge on median pay

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is at $50,670, compared with $46,170 for Order Clerks.

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks has the edge on projected growth

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is at -5.6% projected growth, compared with -17.5% projected growth for Order Clerks.

49.5/ 100

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

35.5/ 100

Order Clerks

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks vs Order Clerks

Dimension	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	Order Clerks
Median pay (2025)	$50,670	$46,170
Pay percentile	34.6 percentile	20.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-5.6%	-17.5%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	144,100	6,300
2025 employment	1,532,400	78,900
How you qualify	Some college, no degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	Some college, no degree; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 3	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks brief Read Order Clerks brief

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks vs Order Clerks: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

Order Clerks

How the national numbers differ

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks has the edge on annual openings

Typical preparation differs.

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks has the edge on median pay

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks has the edge on projected growth

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks vs Order Clerks

Try another comparison

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks vs Correspondence Clerks

Order Clerks vs Office Machine Operators, Except Computer