Receptionist Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 10,082 US job postings by 5,317 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for receptionists: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 10,082 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for receptionists in US job postings is $19.00 an hour (1,468 postings from 831 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $17.00 to $21.30 an hour.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $19.01 an hour (285 postings).
- The skills that most set receptionist postings apart are customer service, multitasking abilities.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 1 year of experience.
Receptionist job postings in the US, October 2026
- $19.00/hr
- Median advertised pay (1,468 postings)
- $17.00–$21.30
- Middle 50% of postings
- $19.01/hr
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 10,082
- US job postings from 5,317 employers
How much does a receptionist make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $19.00 an hour, from 1,468 US job postings by 831 employers that state pay. That is about $40,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 1,468 US receptionist job postings: median $40,000 a year ($19.00 an hour), middle half $35,000 to $46,000.
- Median: $40,000 ($19.00/hr)
- 25th percentile: $35,000
- 75th percentile: $46,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.1% |
| $20K–$30K | 5.4% |
| $30K–$40K | 42.9% |
| $40K–$50K | 37.6% |
| $50K–$60K | 10.5% |
| $60K–$70K | 2.1% |
| $70K–$80K | 0.4% |
| $90K–$100K | 0.1% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $19.00 | $17.00–$21.30 | 1,120 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $40,000 | $35K–$46K | 1,468 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Receptionists and Information Clerks (43-4171) at $38,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a receptionist?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $19.01 an hour (285 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $19.01/hr | 285 |
| 2-4 years | withheld | 111 |
| 5+ years | withheld | 13 |
Highest-paying receptionist jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionist (general) | $19.50/hr | 762 | 440 |
| Front Desk Receptionist | $19.50/hr | 461 | 270 |
Receptionist pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $20.50/hr | $18.56–$23.00 | 159 | 7.0% |
| New York | $20.00/hr | $18.00–$24.04 | 152 | 6.6% |
Skills employers ask for in receptionist job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 51% |
| Customer service | 39% |
| Organizational skills | 31% |
| Microsoft Office | 26% |
| Interpersonal skills | 25% |
| Attention to detail | 18% |
| Excel | 18% |
| Multitask | 16% |
| Detail-oriented | 13% |
| Word | 12% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set receptionists apart
- Customer service4× as often as in all postings · 39%
- Multitasking abilities49.4× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Multitask7.5× as often as in all postings · 16%
- Microsoft Office3× as often as in all postings · 26%
- Detail-oriented4.5× as often as in all postings · 13%
- Crm systems18.6× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Highly organized8× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Friendly6.7× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Basic computer skills5× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Organized4× as often as in all postings · 11%
- Professional6.5× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Multi-task3.4× as often as in all postings · 8%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a receptionist job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a receptionist do?
Employers post these jobs as Front Desk Receptionist, Front Desk Associate, Front Desk Coordinator, Front Desk Representative, Front Desk and other titles. The largest specializations are Front Desk Receptionist (29%), Spa Receptionist (6%), Receptionist/Administrative Assistant (2%), Bilingual Receptionist (2%), Veterinary Receptionist (2%), Welcome Center Coordinator (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Receptionists and Information Clerks (43-4171.00). Its most important tasks:
- 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.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a receptionist?
Among 1,040 postings that state a minimum, the median is 1 year. 2% say 0 years and 64% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,040 US receptionist job postings: median 1 year, and 64% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 6% |
| 1 yr | 58% |
| 2 yrs | 24% |
| 3-4 yrs | 10% |
| 5-7 yrs | 2% |
| 8-9 yrs | under 1% |
| 10+ yrs | under 1% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 62%, Part-time 38% of the 917 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a receptionist: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Receptionist | 3,368 (63.3%) |
| Front Desk Receptionist | 334 (6.3%) |
| Front Desk Associate | 196 (3.7%) |
| Front Desk Coordinator | 119 (2.2%) |
| Front Desk Representative | 116 (2.2%) |
| Front Desk | 92 (1.7%) |
| Part-Time Receptionist | 54 (1.0%) |
| Veterinary Receptionist | 53 (1.0%) |
| Front Office Coordinator | 52 (1.0%) |
| Front Office Receptionist | 49 (0.9%) |
| Spa Receptionist | 45 (0.9%) |
| Front Office Assistant | 45 (0.9%) |
| Spa Associate | 45 (0.9%) |
| Spa Concierge | 43 (0.8%) |
| Weekend Receptionist | 39 (0.7%) |
| Spa Sales and Guest Service Associate | 34 (0.6%) |
| Spa Coordinator | 29 (0.5%) |
| Receptionist/Administrative Assistant | 26 (0.5%) |
| Office Receptionist | 26 (0.5%) |
| Spa Sales Associate | 24 (0.4%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Receptionist job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front Desk | 219 | 92 | – | – | – |
Receptionist compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionist | $19.00/hr | 1 year | 10,082 | – |
| Customer Service Representative | $19.00/hr | 1 year | 33,817 | 19 |
| Administrative Assistant | $21.50/hr | 2 years | 14,117 | 18 |
| Patient Services Representative | $21.50/hr | 1 year | 14,137 | 19 |
| Dispatcher | $22.21/hr | 2 years | 4,190 | 19 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Service Representative | 19 | $19.00/hr |
| Administrative Assistant | 18 | $21.50/hr |
| Patient Services Representative | 19 | $21.50/hr |
| Dispatcher | 19 | $22.21/hr |
| Front Desk Agent | 22 | $18.50/hr |
| Sales Coordinator | 18 | $23.00/hr |
Applying for receptionist jobs?
- Receptionist resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find receptionist jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a receptionist make an hour?
What are the highest-paying receptionist jobs?
What are other names for a receptionist?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 18 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.