Best degree programs for Receptionists and Information Clerks, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 16 schools train Receptionists and Information Clerks. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $38,010 median wage, 910,180 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 16 schools train receptionists and information clerks, graduating 107 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Receptionist. The job pays a median of $38,010 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About receptionists and information clerks
Answer inquiries and provide information to the general public, customers, visitors, and other interested parties regarding activities conducted at establishment and location of departments, offices, and employees within the organization.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0406 | 97 | 90.7% | 15 | $25,993 | $9,500 |
| 2 | CIP 01.8203 | 10 | 9.3% | 1 | — | — |
Top 16 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Receptionist | 51% | — | — |
| 2 | Renton Technical College Renton, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Receptionist | 46% | — | — |
| 3 | Dallas College Dallas, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Receptionist | 32% | — | — |
| 4 | Great Falls College Montana State University Great Falls, MT Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Veterinary Reception/Receptionist | 34% | — | — |
| 5 | Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Receptionist | 50% | — | — |
| 6 | Spokane Community College Spokane, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Receptionist | 33% | — | — |
| 7 | Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Receptionist | 65% | — | — |
| 8 | Nicolet Area Technical College Rhinelander, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Receptionist | 44% | — | — |
| 9 | Peninsula College Port Angeles, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Receptionist | 37% | — | — |
| 10 | Minnesota West Community and Technical College Granite Falls, MN Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Receptionist | 52% | — | — |
| 11 | South Puget Sound Community College Olympia, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Receptionist | 44% | — | — |
| 12 | South Central College North Mankato, MN Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Receptionist | 39% | — | — |
| 13 | Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Receptionist | 29% | — | — |
| 14 | New River Community and Technical College Beaver, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Receptionist | 36% | — | — |
| 15 | The University of Montana Missoula, MT Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Receptionist | 48% | — | 96% |
| 16 | Wenatchee Valley College Wenatchee, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Receptionist | 43% | — | — |
What receptionists and information clerks earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsinmoderate | $41,150 | 25,580 | 1.49× | 4 | 38 |
| Washington | $44,710 | 26,500 | 1.28× | 5 | 35 |
| Texaslimited | $35,210 | 78,330 | 0.95× | 1 | 14 |
| Montanalimited | $37,360 | 1,280 | 0.43× | 2 | 11 |
| Minnesotalimited | $37,510 | 11,800 | 0.68× | 2 | 7 |
| Nebraskalimited | $37,860 | 6,750 | 1.13× | 1 | 1 |
| West Virginialimited | $31,920 | 5,470 | 1.33× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Operate telephone switchboard to answer, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments.
- Greet persons entering establishment, determine nature and purpose of visit, and direct or escort them to specific destinations.
- Receive payment and record receipts for services.
- Schedule appointments and maintain and update appointment calendars.
- Transmit information or documents to customers, using computer, mail, or facsimile machine.
- Hear and resolve complaints from customers or the public.
- File and maintain records.
- Provide information about establishment, such as location of departments or offices, employees within the organization, or services provided.
Skills
- Speaking3.9
- Active Listening3.8
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Critical Thinking3.1
- Writing3.0
- Monitoring2.9
- Active Learning2.8
- Learning Strategies2.1
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.2
- Administrative3.9
- English Language3.7
- Computers and Electronics3.4
- Mathematics2.7
- Public Safety and Security2.7
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.0
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Speech Recognition3.9
- Speech Clarity3.8
- Written Comprehension3.6
- Written Expression3.4
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.6
- Getting Information4.4
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public4.3
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.1
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems3.9
- Assisting and Caring for Others3.7
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Receptionist
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Receptionists and Information Clerks2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.8203Veterinary Reception/Receptionist
- 52.0406Receptionist
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Receptionist?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Receptionist, which awarded 97 degrees in 2024-25, 90.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Receptionist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Operations Support and Assistant Services, Veterinary Administrative Services. Together they graduate about 107 people a year.
How much do receptionists and information clerks earn?+
The median is $38,010 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $28,760 at the 10th percentile to $49,950 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for receptionists and information clerks growing?+
BLS projects a +0.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 128,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
16 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do receptionists and information clerks work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Greeter, Receptionist, Office Assistant, Front Desk Receptionist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 43-4171.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card