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Cashiers: Career Overview

Receive and disburse money in establishments other than financial institutions. May use electronic scanners, cash registers, or related equipment. May process credit or debit card transactions and validate checks.

What Tasks Do Cashiers Do?

The day-to-day responsibilities of cashiers span:

• Receive payment by cash, check, credit cards, vouchers, or automatic debits.
• Greet customers entering establishments.
• Issue receipts, refunds, credits, or change due to customers.
• Assist customers by providing information and resolving their complaints.
• Monitor checkout stations to ensure they have adequate cash available and are staffed appropriately.
• Establish or identify prices of goods, services, or admission, and tabulate bills, using calculators, cash registers, or optical price scanners.
• Answer incoming phone calls.
• Answer customers' questions, and provide information on procedures or policies.

What Cashiers Need to Know

Successful cashiers draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Key Skills

The abilities that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Top Knowledge Areas

Other Cashiers Job Titles

Common job titles for this role include:

• Auction Clerk
• Bottle Booth Attendant
• Box Office Attendant
• Bridge Toll Collector
• Cage Cashier
• Cart Attendant
• Cash Checker
• Cash Office Worker

How Many Cashiers Are There?

The U.S. employs around 494,623 cashiers working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +13.9% over the projection horizon.

How Much Do Cashiers Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$38,626
Hourly median	$18.57
10th percentile	$26,287
25th percentile	$32,457
75th percentile	$44,796
90th percentile	$50,965

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

Pay by State

State	Annual median salary
District of Columbia	$37,540
Washington	$37,300
California	$36,270
Alaska	$36,050
Colorado	$35,760
Vermont	$35,090
New York	$35,030
Hawaii	$34,930
Massachusetts	$34,800
Oregon	$34,220
Connecticut	$34,030
Maine	$33,900
New Jersey	$33,200
Arizona	$32,990
Maryland	$32,870
Minnesota	$32,570
Illinois	$31,340
New Hampshire	$31,230
Rhode Island	$31,040
Delaware	$30,920
Montana	$30,620
North Dakota	$30,610
Utah	$30,290
Idaho	$30,280
Virginia	$29,840
Wisconsin	$29,690
Nebraska	$29,420
Missouri	$29,400
South Dakota	$29,330
Florida	$29,320
New Mexico	$29,230
Michigan	$29,190
Wyoming	$29,150
Nevada	$29,080
Iowa	$28,780
Pennsylvania	$28,690
Indiana	$28,640
Ohio	$28,540
Texas	$28,310
Georgia	$28,020
North Carolina	$27,930
Tennessee	$27,860
South Carolina	$27,590
Kansas	$27,580
Arkansas	$27,370
Oklahoma	$27,130
Kentucky	$26,970
Alabama	$26,760
Virgin Islands	$26,560
West Virginia	$23,490
Louisiana	$23,410
Mississippi	$22,410
Guam	$21,860
Puerto Rico	$20,810

Pay by U.S. Region

Earnings for cashiers vary by region. Top regions by median wage:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Far Western US	$35,761	15.5%	0.93
New England	$33,833	4.6%	1.00
Rocky Mountains	$32,854	3.7%	0.94
Middle Atlantic	$32,711	13.9%	0.93
Plains States	$29,809	7.8%	1.15
Great Lakes	$29,579	14.4%	1.02
Southwest	$29,065	12.5%	1.00
Southeast	$27,721	26.5%	1.09

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Cashiers

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	CA	$41,890	16,430
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	CA	$39,520	40,350
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	WA	$39,370	30,030
Napa, CA	CA	$37,860	1,510
Kahului-Wailuku, HI	HI	$37,840	1,560
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	CA	$37,780	5,210
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	WA	$37,370	1,220
Vallejo, CA	CA	$37,240	3,660

Industry Breakdown

The bulk of cashiers are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Retail Trade	2,619,890	$31,200
Accommodation and Food Services	327,250	$29,580
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	51,320	$32,000
Other Services (except Public Administration)	25,620	$31,540
Manufacturing	25,350	$32,880
Wholesale Trade	17,890	$31,880
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	12,710	$30,930
Health Care and Social Assistance	11,420	$34,290

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Software Cashiers Use

• Internet browser software: Apple Safari (hot technology)
• Internet browser software: Microsoft Edge (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
• Internet browser software: Mozilla Firefox (hot technology)

The Day-to-Day Environment

The on-the-job environment of cashiers reflects the following characteristics:

• Contact With Others
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Telephone Conversations
• Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People
• Spend Time Standing

Education and Training

Typical cashiers positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Similar Occupations

Similar Occupations

• Pharmacy Aides (Primary-Long)
• First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers (Primary-Short)
• First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers (Supplemental)
• Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers (Primary-Long)
• Counter and Rental Clerks (Primary-Short)
• Retail Salespersons (Primary-Short)
• Telemarketers (Supplemental)
• Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers (Supplemental)

Sources

This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 41-2011.00 (Cashiers).