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Customer Support Specialist salary and cost of hiring in the US

A customer support specialist answers customers by email, chat and sometimes phone, solves their problems on the first contact where possible and passes product feedback to the team.

$44,770US median wage
$63,957employer cost with benefits
2,595,750customer support specialists employed
Washingtonhighest-paying state

BLS occupation 43-4051[1]; benefits share[2]. Checked 2026-10-16.

Request profilesPay by state

US salary range

Range10thMedian90th
United States$31,750$44,770$63,590
10th to 90th percentilemiddle half (25th to 75th)median

Salary by state

Linked states have a detailed page with metro areas.
StateMedian90th percentileJobs
Washington
$50,330
$73,61039,760
California
$49,560
$75,700176,850
Massachusetts
$49,120
$74,88049,990
Minnesota
$48,800
$72,83053,340
District of Columbia
$48,250
$77,1207,550
Delaware
$48,190
$75,9707,470
Connecticut
$48,090
$73,65024,490
New York
$48,000
$76,280141,090
New Jersey
$47,740
$72,04059,690
Rhode Island
$47,550
$65,0107,890
Colorado
$47,540
$66,04038,770
Vermont
$47,500
$66,5302,870
Oregon
$47,450
$64,13019,440
New Hampshire
$47,300
$66,28012,750
Maine
$47,160
$63,4907,560
Wisconsin
$46,970
$63,65050,840
Illinois
$46,130
$71,400100,970
Iowa
$46,090
$64,54030,100
Arizona
$45,690
$62,97087,020
Hawaii
$45,650
$64,1308,010
Ohio
$45,610
$63,21085,930
Montana
$45,290
$62,2504,910
Alaska
$45,150
$62,8402,410
North Dakota
$44,670
$68,3505,750
Pennsylvania
$44,630
$63,37094,340
Missouri
$44,190
$63,89050,530
Michigan
$43,950
$63,83071,310
Nebraska
$43,940
$59,40015,340
Idaho
$43,200
$62,19018,770
Indiana
$43,140
$62,62044,630
Utah
$43,140
$59,55044,490
Maryland
$42,830
$64,00037,740
Tennessee
$42,830
$60,07059,730
Virginia
$42,730
$61,35059,850
Wyoming
$42,340
$59,7902,110
South Dakota
$40,650
$55,6806,120
Nevada
$40,560
$57,93032,110
Florida
$40,440
$59,770228,000
Texas
$40,420
$59,590337,170
Kansas
$40,320
$59,87029,200
North Carolina
$40,240
$59,82089,510
Georgia (US state)
$39,630
$60,27097,850
New Mexico
$39,030
$56,48016,950
South Carolina
$38,860
$59,30051,000
Kentucky
$38,700
$59,81038,630
Oklahoma
$38,650
$58,05034,460
West Virginia
$38,430
$56,9709,860
Alabama
$38,400
$55,67033,290
Arkansas
$37,840
$56,63020,680
Louisiana
$37,330
$51,01025,780
Mississippi
$36,380
$49,54020,860

Top-paying metro areas

Areas with at least 500 people in the job.

Metro areaMedianJobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
$60,480
8,860
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
$57,830
19,930
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
$53,550
25,840
Napa, CA
$53,360
640
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
$51,810
1,750
Vallejo, CA
$51,210
1,130
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area
$50,800
720
East North Dakota nonmetropolitan area
$50,420
540
Burlington-South Burlington, VT
$50,160
1,250
Stockton-Lodi, CA
$49,990
2,650

What the job involves

  • Answer tickets and live chats in clear, friendly English
  • Handle refunds, returns and order issues
  • Write and update help-centre articles
  • Tag tickets and report recurring problems
  • Escalate bugs with clear reproduction steps

Tools

  • Zendesk, Gorgias, Freshdesk or Help Scout
  • Intercom
  • Shopify admin
  • Slack
  • Google Sheets

How to test candidates

Remote work

Support is easy to split by time zone: a team in UTC+4 can cover the European day and the US morning, and night shifts can cover the US afternoon.

Local or remote

$63,957 local hire in the USmedian wage plus benefits, year one
$13,288 remote hire through Stafka$850/month, placement fee and Deel, year one

Our open customer support specialist roles pay $700–$1,000 a month under a direct contract. The one-time fee is $2,500–$3,000[3] with a 90-day replacement; paying through Deel adds $49 a month[4]. Change any number below to match your plan.

$63,957local hire, first year incl. benefits
$13,288remote hire, first year incl. fee
$50,669difference in year one
79%of the local cost saved

Questions

What is the average customer support specialist salary in the US?

The BLS median was $44,770 a year in May 2025 and the mean $46,590.

Which state pays customer support specialists the most?

Washington, with a median of $50,330 a year.

Hire customer support specialists remotely

Sources

  1. BLS OEWS May 2025, 43-4051: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes434051.htm
  2. BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm
  3. Silkstaff pricing: https://silkstaff.com/#pricing
  4. Deel pricing, contractor management: https://www.deel.com/pricing/

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Data checked 2026-10-16.