What a full-time receptionist really costs
Wages, benefits, and payroll taxes, from the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. October 2026.
One receptionist costs far more than the wage
Fully loaded annual cost, from two BLS sources. Method and sources below.
Summary: The average U.S. receptionist (occupation 43-4171, Receptionists and Information Clerks) earns $18.97 an hour, or $39,460 a year. The median is $18.27 an hour, or $38,010 a year [S1]. Receptionists at law firms earn more: $20.65 an hour, or $42,950 a year on average [S2]. Wages are only part of the cost. For private-industry office and administrative support workers, total employer compensation is $36.73 per hour worked, against $25.22 in wages. Benefits and payroll taxes add about 46% on top of pay [S3]. Applying that ratio, one full-time receptionist costs an employer $57,469 a year in general and $61,512 a year at a law firm.
Method
- Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 reference period, national and national industry-specific estimates for SOC 43-4171. These are the latest OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026 [S1, S2]. OEWS annual wages equal hourly wage × 2,080 hours.
- Benefits load: BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), June 2026 (2026 Q2), released Sept 9, 2026 [S3, S4]. Load = total compensation ÷ wages and salaries, for the closest published occupation/industry group. Neither OEWS wages nor ECEC wages include overtime premiums, shift differentials, or nonproduction bonuses; ECEC counts those as supplemental pay, a benefit. That keeps the two sources consistent.
- Fully loaded cost = OEWS annual mean wage × ECEC load. This is an estimate built from two BLS sources. BLS does not publish a "fully loaded receptionist cost" itself.
Receptionist wages by industry
BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-4171.
| Industry (NAICS) | Employment | Hourly mean | Annual mean | Hourly median | Annual median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All industries (cross-industry) | 910,180 | $18.97 | $39,460 | $18.27 | $38,010 |
| Legal Services (5411) | 25,020 | $20.65 | $42,950 | $20.00 | $41,600 |
| Insurance Carriers & Related Activities (524) | 13,550 | $19.03 | $39,580 | $18.78 | $39,070 |
| Insurance Carriers (5241) | 2,250 | $20.10 | $41,820 | $19.31 | $40,170 |
| Agencies, Brokerages & Other Insurance Related (5242) | 11,300 | $18.81 | $39,130 | $18.72 | $38,930 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 43-4171. All industries from national_M2025_dl.xlsx [S1]; industry rows from nat3d/nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx [S2]. Relative standard errors of the mean wage: 0.2% (all), 1.3% (legal), 1.1% (524), 1.2% (5241, 5242). Receptionist hourly percentiles (all industries): 10th $13.83, 25th $16.33, 75th $21.70, 90th $24.01.
Employer costs and the benefits load
BLS ECEC, June 2026. Dollars per hour worked, with the share of total compensation in parentheses.
| Component | All private workers | Office & admin support (all private) | Office & admin, Prof. & Business Svcs | Office & admin, Financial Activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wages and salaries | $32.82 (70.0%) | $25.22 (68.7%) | $24.99 (69.8%) | $27.12 (64.8%) |
| Total benefits | $14.07 (30.0%) | $11.51 (31.3%) | $10.79 (30.2%) | $14.74 (35.2%) |
| Paid leave | $3.54 (7.5%) | $2.77 (7.5%) | $2.80 (7.8%) | $3.56 (8.5%) |
| Supplemental pay | $1.88 (4.0%) | $1.06 (2.9%) | $1.15 (3.2%) | $1.55 (3.7%) |
| Insurance (incl. health) | $3.69 (7.9%) | $4.05 (11.0%) | $3.41 (9.5%) | $5.55 (13.3%) |
| Retirement and savings | $1.57 (3.3%) | $1.05 (2.9%) | $0.86 (2.4%) | $1.34 (3.2%) |
| Legally required benefits | $3.40 (7.2%) | $2.58 (7.0%) | $2.57 (7.2%) | $2.73 (6.5%) |
| Total compensation | $46.89 | $36.73 | $35.79 | $41.86 |
| Benefits load (total ÷ wages) | 1.4287 | 1.4564 | 1.4322 | 1.5435 |
| Applied to | (reference) | General receptionist | Law firm (proxy) | Insurance (proxy) |
Source: BLS ECEC June 2026, Table 4 (private industry by occupational and industry group) and private-industry dataset; series CMU2010000000000D, CMU2010000220000D, CMU201540A220000D, CMU201520A220000D [S3, S4]. Columns may not sum exactly because of rounding. ECEC has no series for Legal Services (5411) or for office/admin support within Insurance Carriers. The closest published groups are used as proxies.
Benefit detail, all private industry workers
June 2026, dollars per hour worked [S4]. BLS publishes this level of detail for all private industry workers only, not for office and administrative support occupations.
- Health insurance $3.48 (7.4%); life $0.05; short-term disability $0.10; long-term disability $0.05
- Social Security $2.24 (4.8%); Medicare $0.55 (1.2%); FUTA $0.03 (0.1%); SUTA $0.14 (0.3%); workers' comp $0.43 (0.9%)
- Vacation $1.76; holiday $1.05; sick $0.50; personal $0.23
- Defined benefit $0.40; defined contribution $1.17
- Overtime/premium $0.45; shift differentials $0.10; nonproduction bonuses $1.33
Starting with the December 2026 data, ECEC will stop including workers' compensation costs (BLS notice). The June 2026 data used here still includes it [S3].
Fully loaded cost per receptionist
Fully loaded annual cost = OEWS annual mean wage × (ECEC total compensation ÷ ECEC wages and salaries).
| Segment | OEWS annual mean wage | ECEC load | Fully loaded (mean wage) | Fully loaded (median wage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General: all industries | $39,460 | × 36.73 / 25.22 = 1.4564 | $57,469 | $55,357 |
| Law firm: Legal Services (5411) | $42,950 | × 35.79 / 24.99 = 1.4322 | $61,512 | $59,578 |
| Insurance (524) | $39,580 | × 41.86 / 27.12 = 1.5435 | $61,092 | $60,305 |
| Insurance Carriers (5241) | $41,820 | × 1.5435 | $64,550 | $62,003 |
| Agencies & Brokerages (5242) | $39,130 | × 1.5435 | $60,398 | $60,089 |
Sources: wages [S1, S2]; loads [S3, S4]. Median column = OEWS annual median × the same load.
The coverage gap
Illustrative, not a BLS statistic: one full-time receptionist works about 40 of the week's 168 hours. Staffing every hour takes 168 ÷ 40 = 4.2 full-time equivalents. That is about 4.2 × $57,469 ≈ $241,369 a year in general, or 4.2 × $61,512 ≈ $258,350 a year at a law firm. This is simple arithmetic. It leaves out overtime and night/weekend pay differentials, and it does not add staff to cover vacation and sick days.
Illustrative savings: one receptionist vs. a flat monthly AI receptionist employee
Illustrative, not a quote. The monthly prices below are hypothetical examples. Wide Awake AI pricing is a flat setup fee plus a flat monthly fee, quoted in a walkthrough. Setup fees are not included.
| Hypothetical AI price (illustrative) | Annual | Savings vs. general ($57,469) | Savings vs. law firm ($61,512) | Savings vs. insurance ($61,092) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 / month | $6,000 | $51,469 | $55,512 | $55,092 |
| $1,000 / month | $12,000 | $45,469 | $49,512 | $49,092 |
| $1,500 / month | $18,000 | $39,469 | $43,512 | $43,092 |
Savings = fully loaded annual cost of one receptionist (table above) − (hypothetical monthly price × 12). The comparison is against one 40-hour receptionist, not 24/7 coverage.
Sources
All sources accessed Oct 19, 2026.
- [S1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS): National cross-industry estimates, SOC 43-4171 Receptionists and Information Clerks. Reference period: May 2025. Released May 15, 2026 (news release USDL-26-0725). File national_M2025_dl.xlsx. Accessed Oct 19, 2026.
https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip · https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm · https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.nr0.htm - [S2] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS: National industry-specific estimates (3-digit and 4-digit NAICS), SOC 43-4171, NAICS 5411, 524, 5241, 5242. Reference period: May 2025. Released May 15, 2026. Files nat3d_M2025_dl.xlsx and nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx. Accessed Oct 19, 2026.
https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25in4.zip · https://www.bls.gov/oes/2025/may/oessrci.htm - [S3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), news release USDL-26-1494, Table 4: Private industry workers by occupational and industry group. Reference period: June 2026 (2026 Q2). Released Sept 9, 2026. Accessed Oct 19, 2026.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t04.htm · https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm · https://www.bls.gov/ecec/notices/2026/removing-workers-compensation-costs.htm - [S4] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ECEC Private industry dataset (detailed benefit components). Reference period: June 2026. Estimates released Sept 9, 2026. Accessed Oct 19, 2026.
https://www.bls.gov/web/ecec/ecec-private-dataset.xlsx · https://www.bls.gov/web/ecec.supp.toc.htm
Disclaimer
This page is for general information only. The wage and compensation figures are national averages published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Actual costs vary by location, experience, hours, benefit plans, and employer. The fully loaded figures are estimates that combine two BLS sources as described above. The proxy groups (professional and business services, financial activities) stand in where BLS publishes no industry-specific ECEC series. Coverage and savings figures are illustrative arithmetic, not BLS statistics. Hypothetical AI prices are illustrative, not a quote; actual pricing is a flat setup fee plus flat monthly, quoted in a walkthrough. Wide Awake AI is not affiliated with or endorsed by BLS.
Tell us what your phone is doing
How many calls a day, who picks up now, and what happens to the ones that arrive after you close. That is enough for us to tell you whether this is worth doing.
If it is, you get a flat number on the call. If it is not, you will hear that instead of a proposal.
- [email protected]
- Based in
- San Diego, CA