Occupations · Sales
Cashiers
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.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 41-2011.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 98% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $35,440 | 163,130 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $36,120 | 114,090 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $33,680 | 82,020 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $29,190 | 71,200 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $28,460 | 61,310 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $29,280 | 55,460 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $31,470 | 54,450 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $34,800 | 54,070 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $28,920 | 53,900 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $33,700 | 46,710 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $35,150 | 45,260 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $39,520 | 40,350 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Receive payment by cash, check, credit cards, vouchers, or automatic debits.
- Greet customers entering establishments.
- Calculate total payments received during a time period, and reconcile this with total sales.
- Issue receipts, refunds, credits, or change due to customers.
- Count money in cash drawers at the beginning of shifts to ensure that amounts are correct and that there is adequate change.
- Issue trading stamps, and redeem food stamps and coupons.
- 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.
- Post charges against guests' or patients' accounts.
- Compute and record totals of transactions.
- Weigh items sold by weight to determine prices.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2024-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2024-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Answer incoming phone calls.
- Help customers find the location of products.
- Stock shelves, sort and re-shelve returned items, and mark prices on items and shelves.
O*NET 22.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 5
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| cashier | 5230.1 | exact |
| casino cashier | 4212.3 | broader |
| lottery cashier | 5230.2 | broader |
| foreign exchange cashier | 4312.3 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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