Customer Service Representatives: salary, outlook & degrees
Interact with customers to provide basic or scripted information in response to routine inquiries about products and services. May handle and resolve general complaints. Excludes individuals whose duties are primarily installation, sales, repair, and technical support.
Middle half $36,870–$51,780. 2,595,750 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
32% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $51,325.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 289,500 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Some preparation.
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Business Management And Administration | 8% | Business Administration |
| Psychology | 7% | Psychology |
| Communications | 7% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 6% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| General Business | 6% | Business |
| Biology | 3% | Biology |
| Criminal Justice And Fire Protection | 3% | Criminal Justice · Security / Homeland Security |
| Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure | 3% | Kinesiology / Exercise Science · Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies |
| English Language And Literature | 3% | English |
| Finance | 2% | Finance · Insurance |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| Washington | $50,330 |
| California | $49,560 |
| Massachusetts | $49,120 |
| Minnesota | $48,800 |
| District of Columbia | $48,250 |
| Delaware | $48,190 |
| Connecticut | $48,090 |
| New York | $48,000 |
| New Jersey | $47,740 |
| Rhode Island | $47,550 |
| Colorado | $47,540 |
| Vermont | $47,500 |
| Oregon | $47,450 |
| New Hampshire | $47,300 |
| Maine | $47,160 |
| Wisconsin | $46,970 |
| Illinois | $46,130 |
| Iowa | $46,090 |
| Arizona | $45,690 |
| Hawaii | $45,650 |
| Ohio | $45,610 |
| Montana | $45,290 |
| Alaska | $45,150 |
| North Dakota | $44,670 |
| Pennsylvania | $44,630 |
| Missouri | $44,190 |
| Michigan | $43,950 |
| Nebraska | $43,940 |
| Idaho | $43,200 |
| Indiana | $43,140 |
| Utah | $43,140 |
| Maryland | $42,830 |
| Tennessee | $42,830 |
| Virginia | $42,730 |
| Wyoming | $42,340 |
| South Dakota | $40,650 |
| Nevada | $40,560 |
| Florida | $40,440 |
| Texas | $40,420 |
| Kansas | $40,320 |
| North Carolina | $40,240 |
| Georgia | $39,630 |
| New Mexico | $39,030 |
| South Carolina | $38,860 |
| Kentucky | $38,700 |
| Oklahoma | $38,650 |
| West Virginia | $38,430 |
| Alabama | $38,400 |
| Arkansas | $37,840 |
| Louisiana | $37,330 |
| VI | $37,140 |
| Mississippi | $36,380 |
| GU | $30,350 |
| PR | $26,700 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$39,560
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$40,530
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$42,660
- Jacksonville$42,840
- Lakeland-Winter Haven$38,750
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$38,180
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$42,310
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$37,760
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$46,220
- Richmond$42,660
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$38,150
- Roanoke$45,500
- Kingsport-Bristol$36,130
- Lynchburg$37,670
- Charlottesville$40,240
- Winchester$44,460
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$48,840
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$57,830
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$47,150
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$48,730
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$49,940
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$60,480
- Fresno$46,070
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$49,190
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
Knowledge used
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Sales and Marketing
- Mathematics
Work styles
- Dependability
- Self-Control
- Cooperation
- Social Orientation
- Empathy
People in this job tend to have Conventional (organizing), Enterprising (leading), Social (helping) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Customer Service Representatives: questions
How much do customer Service Representatives make?
Customer Service Representatives earn a U.S. median $44,770 a year; the middle half earn $36,870 to $51,780 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $38,830 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is customer Service Representatives a growing field?
BLS projects a decline of 5.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 289,500 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a customer Service Representative?
BLS lists the typical entry education as high school diploma or equivalent. In O*NET's survey, 14% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is business Management And Administration (8%).
How much do customer Service Representatives make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $40,440 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $44,770 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 43-4051. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Customer Service Representatives: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/customer-service-representatives.