What Counter and Rental Clerks earn in Riverside County, CA
The median pay for Counter and Rental Clerks in Riverside County, CA is $43,130 per year, which works out to $20.74 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area, the labor market that Riverside County, CA belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $47,460, which is 10.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 6,660 people working in this occupation across the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Riverside County, CA has roughly 2,478,600 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Counter and Rental Clerks in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $34,930 a year ($16.79 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $67,820 or more ($32.61 an hour). That is a gap of $32,890 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $36,650 at the 25th percentile and $49,200 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.9 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $20.74 an hour or $43,130 a year at the median for Riverside County, CA. Before any deductions, that is $3,594 a month, $1,659 every two weeks and $829 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.33 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Counter and Rental Clerks
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Counter and Rental Clerks this way: "Receive orders, generally in person, for repairs, rentals, and services. May describe available options, compute cost, and accept payment."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Compute charges for merchandise or services and receive payments"; "Prepare merchandise for display or for purchase or rental"; "Recommend and provide advice on a wide variety of products and services"; "Answer telephones to provide information and receive orders".
Job outlook for Counter and Rental Clerks
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 409,400 jobs in 2025 to 421,900 in 2035, a change of +3%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 46,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 11.3% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $41,300 for this occupation; the Riverside County, CA median of $43,130 is 4.4% above it.
How pay in Riverside County, CA compares
Compared with the California average
Pay in Riverside County, CA runs $1,442 below the California average of $44,572, a gap of 3.2%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of California would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within California, the highest median we track for this job is $47,740 in Alameda County, CA.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Counter and Rental Clerks is $41,345 across the contiguous United States. At $43,130, Riverside County, CA pays $1,785 more, which is 4.3% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Riverside County, CA
Among the 584 occupations with published wages in Riverside County, CA, Counter and Rental Clerks ranks number 505 by median pay, ahead of about 14% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Medical and Health Services Managers at $135,010 a year, which is $91,880 more than the median for Counter and Rental Clerks.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Counter and Rental Clerks earning the Riverside County, CA median of $43,130, they add up to $7,084. The result is $36,046 of take-home pay a year ($3,004 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $27,380. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,047, an effective 7.1% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,674 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $625. FICA totals $3,299, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in California
California income tax on this salary is $737 a year, or 1.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 24% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $61 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Riverside County, CA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Riverside County, CA show an average adjusted gross income of $75,793 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.3% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.8%, compared with the 7.1% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Riverside County, CA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Riverside County, CA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $36,046 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Riverside County, CA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,705 a month ($20,460 a year), and at $2,103 for two bedrooms. For Counter and Rental Clerks, a one-bedroom absorbs 56.8% of take-home pay and 47.4% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 8.0% of gross pay for Counter and Rental Clerks in Riverside County, CA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using California residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $3,378 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $751, for $4,129 in total. Gasoline in California averages $4.42 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $2,047.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $30,071 a year in Riverside County, CA. Subtract that from $36,046 of take-home pay and $5,975 remains, which is $498 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 13.9% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Local housing and commute data for Riverside County, CA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Riverside County, CA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Riverside County, CA, set beside the California and national medians.
Property taxes in Riverside County, CA
Homeowners in Riverside County, CA pay a median of $4,348 a year in real estate taxes, 15% below the California median of $5,124 and 39% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $557,300, the median tax bill is 0.78% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Counter and Rental Clerks median of $43,130, a tax bill of that size would equal 10.1% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Riverside County, CA
Renters in Riverside County, CA pay a median gross rent of $1,901 a month in the Census survey, 7% below the California median of $2,036. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,705 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $557,300, 24% below the California median of $734,700. Median household income is $93,074, 6% below the California median of $99,122, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 22.0% of that income.
Commuting in Riverside County, CA
Workers in Riverside County, CA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 33.8 minutes each way, 18% above the California average of 28.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.6 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 12.3% of workers in Riverside County, CA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Counter and Rental Clerks afford to live in Riverside County, CA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $43,130 that ceiling is $1,078 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,705 is $627 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $32.79 an hour; the median for Counter and Rental Clerks is $20.74, which is 37% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.33 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 22.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,103 a month means $1,052 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,842 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $13,817.
How fast you can save
At $498 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 21 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 42 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Counter and Rental Clerks pay in Riverside County, CA
How much do Counter and Rental Clerks make per hour in Riverside County, CA?
The median is $20.74 per hour, based on $43,130 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $16.79 at the 10th percentile to $32.61 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Counter and Rental Clerks take home after taxes in Riverside County, CA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $43,130 becomes $36,046 a year. That is $3,004 a month, $1,386 every two weeks or $693 a week.
How much tax do Counter and Rental Clerks pay in Riverside County, CA?
Total taxes are $7,084 a year, an effective rate of 16.4%: $3,047 federal income tax, $3,299 FICA and $737 California income tax.
Do Counter and Rental Clerks earn more in Riverside County, CA than elsewhere in California?
No. The local median of $43,130 is -3.2% versus the California average of $44,572, a difference of $1,442 a year.
Can Counter and Rental Clerks afford a one-bedroom apartment in Riverside County, CA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,705 a month against take-home pay of $3,004, which is 56.8% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,078 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Counter and Rental Clerks in Riverside County, CA?
About $498 a month ($5,975 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $30,071 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Riverside County, CA at the 30% guideline?
$32.79 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $20,460 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Counter and Rental Clerks is $20.74.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the California rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.