Occupation salary profile

Bill and Account Collectors

SOC 43-3011 BLS OEWS May 2025

Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer’s account, preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond, initiating repossession proceedings or service disconnection, and keeping records of collection and status of accounts.

National median · BLS
$47,030
▲ +2.15% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$49,060
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
158,830
Jobs (BLS)
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Pay range for Bill and Account Collectors

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay$34,400
25th$39,010
Median (50th)$47,030
75th$56,740
90th — top pay$65,580

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Bill and Account Collectors

BLS projects employment of bill and account collectors to decline 10.4% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 11,200 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
160,200 → 143,400
-16,700 jobs
Projected change
-10.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
11,200
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
0.3% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 2)
Very Little to Some Preparation Needed. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Fastest-declining jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a high school diploma →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Bill and Account Collectors

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Persuasion3.4
  • Social Perceptiveness3.4
  • Writing3.3
  • Critical Thinking3.1
  • Reading Comprehension3.1
  • Monitoring3.0
  • Negotiation3.0
  • Service Orientation3.0
Top knowledge areas
  • English Language4.1
  • Customer and Personal Service3.8
  • Mathematics3.3
  • Economics and Accounting3.3
  • Law and Government3.3
  • Computers and Electronics3.1
  • Administration and Management3.1
  • Administrative3.1
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordSAP softwareIntuit QuickBooksMEDITECH softwareMicrosoft PowerPointADP Drive DMS for AccountingADS AdvantageAdtec Agency ManagerAustin Logistics CallSelectCollection Data Systems CollectOne-TigerColumbia Ultimate ArchiveColumbia Ultimate RemitColumbia Ultimate RPCSCU Connect processing softwareData-Tel Ceasar

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What bill and account collectors do

  • Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
  • Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
  • Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
  • Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
  • Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
  • Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
  • Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise.
  • Confer with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts.
Also called
CollectorDebt CollectorPatient Access SpecialistPatient Account RepresentativeAccount RepresentativeAccounts Receivable Specialist (AR Specialist)Collection AgentCollection SpecialistTelephone Collector
More job titles for this occupation (37)
Account Receivable AssociateAccount Service RepresentativeAccounts CollectorBad Credit CollectorBilingual Collections SpecialistBill CollectorBilling RepresentativeCar RepossessorChaserClaims CollectorCollection ClerkCollection RepresentativeCollections AgentCollections AnalystCollections AssociateCollections ClerkCollections CoordinatorCollections OfficerCollections RepresentativeCollections SpecialistCredit and Collections AnalystCredit CoordinatorCredit SpecialistCustomer Account SpecialistData CollectorDunnerField CollectorInstallment AgentInstallment Loan CollectorInsurance CollectorMedical Collections SpecialistMedical CollectorPatient Financial Service RepresentativePayment CollectorRent CollectorRepossession AgentRepossessor

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.