Texas·Office and Administrative Support Occupations·SOC 43-9021

Best Data Entry Keyer programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment

Operate data entry device, such as keyboard or photo composing perforator.

15 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 236 people a year. The job pays a median of $38,880 in Texas across about 17,850 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledData Entry ClerkData TranscriberData Entry OperatorData Capture SpecialistEncoderData KeyerKeypuncherTeletypist
Graduates / yr
236
in Texas
Median pay · Texas
$38,880
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
17,850
people employed
Schools
15
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
28%
across those schools
Median net price
$14,303
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Texas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Texas page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0407In Texas
185
78.4%
13$25,993$9,500
2
CIP 10.0305In Texas
27
11.4%
2$25,121$26,958
3
CIP 11.0601In Texas
24
10.2%
2$46,716$8,690

Top 15 schools in Texas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 15 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Houston City College
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
72Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry$37,48217%
2McLennan Community College
Waco, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
27Data Entry/Microcomputer Applications, General39%
3Texas Southern University
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
25Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry22%97%
4Tarrant County College District
Fort Worth, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
22Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry34%
5Dallas College
Dallas, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
21Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry$30,22832%
6Central Texas College
Killeen, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
17Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production11%
7San Antonio College
San Antonio, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
14Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry26%
8Southwest Texas College
Uvalde, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
10Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry31%
9South Plains College
Levelland, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
9Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry29%
10Interactive College of Technology
Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry31%$14,474
11Temple College
Temple, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
5Data Entry/Microcomputer Applications, General32%
12Navarro College
Corsicana, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
4Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry23%
13Interactive College of Technology
Pasadena, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry23%$12,675
14Interactive College of Technology
Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry24%$14,303
15Southwest College for the Deaf
Big Spring, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
1Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry40%

All 15 schools in Texas

Every school in Texas with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Texas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Houston City CollegeHoustonPublic721
McLennan Community CollegeWacoPublic272
Texas Southern UniversityHoustonPublic251
Tarrant County College DistrictFort WorthPublic222
Dallas CollegeDallasPublic211
Central Texas CollegeKilleenPublic171
San Antonio CollegeSan AntonioPublic141
Southwest Texas CollegeUvaldePublic101
South Plains CollegeLevellandPublic91
Interactive College of TechnologyHoustonPrivate for-profit51
Temple CollegeTemplePublic51
Navarro CollegeCorsicanaPublic41
Interactive College of TechnologyPasadenaPrivate for-profit31
Interactive College of TechnologyHoustonPrivate for-profit11
Southwest College for the DeafBig SpringPublic11

What data entry keyers earn in Texas

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Texas
$38,880
Mean annual
$40,800
Jobs in state
17,850
What the range looks like
10th pct$28,020Median$38,88090th pct$56,920
Versus the national median
-6.0%

U.S. median $41,340. Texas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.55×

Concentrated here: Texas employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Texas

Midland, TX
$44,190median
100 jobs
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
$43,110median
5,610 jobs
Longview, TX
$41,310median
120 jobs
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
$41,820median
1,290 jobs
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
$39,520median
4,430 jobs
Killeen-Temple, TX
$39,550median
90 jobs
College Station-Bryan, TX
$38,610median
100 jobs
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
$37,780median
1,090 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-25.9%
Decline
Openings per year
9,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-36,700
141,600 → 104,900
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus short-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Data Entry Keyers page.

How to become a Data Entry Keyer

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.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningMonitoringWritingCritical ThinkingSpeaking

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Texas

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Data Entry Keyers3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 10.0305Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production
  • 11.0601Data Entry/Microcomputer Applications, General
  • 52.0407Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry

Common questions

Answers for people weighing data entry keyers programs in Texas.

What degree do you need to become a Data Entry Keyer?+

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 Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry, which awarded 185 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 78.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Data Entry Keyer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Operations Support and Assistant Services, Graphic Communications, Data Entry/Microcomputer Applications. Together they graduate about 236 people a year in Texas.

How much do data entry keyers earn in Texas?+

The median is $38,880 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.0% below the U.S. median of $41,340. 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 data entry keyers growing?+

BLS projects a -25.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 9,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Texas?+

15 institutions in Texas reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 data entry keyers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Data Entry Clerk, Data Transcriber, Data Entry Operator, Data Capture Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 43-9021.

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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