Answering Service and Front Desk Statistics
By Answering365 · Published November 12, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025; Census County Business Patterns 2023; FTC Do Not Call Data Book FY 2025; FCC consumer complaints 2025
The U.S. had 1,035 telephone answering service businesses with 41,582 employees in 2023, according to the Census Bureau, and consumers filed 2,618,077 Do Not Call complaints with the FTC in fiscal year 2025, up 26% from the year before.
Key numbers
- receptionists and information clerks employed in the U.S., at a mean wage of $18.97 an hour
- 910,180
- BLS OEWS, May 2025
- switchboard operators, including answering service, at a mean wage of $20.34 an hour
- 34,280
- BLS OEWS, May 2025
- telephone answering service businesses with paid staff, employing 41,582 people
- 1,035
- Census County Business Patterns, 2023 (NAICS 561421)
- Do Not Call complaints to the FTC in fiscal year 2025; 61.2% were about robocalls
- 2,618,077
- FTC National Do Not Call Registry Data Book, FY 2025
- unwanted-call complaints to the FCC in 2025, 43.5% of all its consumer complaints
- 125,199
- FCC consumer complaints data, 2025, retrieved November 12, 2026
Statistics at a glance
Each figure names its source and period. The state-by-state tables follow below, and every number is in the CSV download.
Front desk jobs and wages
910,180 people worked as receptionists and information clerks in the U.S., at a mean wage of $18.97 an hour ($39,460 a year) and a median of $18.27.
BLS OEWS, May 2025, occupation 43-4171
The most receptionist jobs were in California (82,470), Texas (78,330) and New York (65,010).
BLS OEWS, May 2025
34,280 people worked as switchboard operators, including answering service, at a mean wage of $20.34 an hour ($42,300 a year) and a median of $18.57.
BLS OEWS, May 2025, occupation 43-2011
There were 26.6 receptionists and information clerks for every switchboard or answering service operator.
BLS OEWS, May 2025; our calculation
Operator jobs were most numerous in California (6,680), Texas (3,640) and Florida (3,090). Among the 45 states with a published wage, the mean ran from $14.94 an hour in Mississippi to $27.42 in Hawaii.
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Staffing one phone line every hour of the year at the U.S. average receptionist wage would cost $166,177 a year in wages alone. See the 24/7 coverage cost in every state.
Our study, from BLS OEWS May 2025
Telephone answering service businesses
1,035 telephone answering service establishments with paid staff employed 41,582 people in mid-March 2023 and paid $1.61 billion in payroll that year.
Census County Business Patterns, 2023, NAICS 561421
That works out to about $38,731 in yearly payroll per employee, part-time staff included.
Census County Business Patterns, 2023; our calculation
The most answering service establishments were in California (113), Florida (111) and Texas (94). The most employees were in Florida (4,443), Utah (4,218) and Georgia (4,158); the Census Bureau flags the Utah and Georgia counts as high noise (see Limits).
Census County Business Patterns, 2023
Alaska, District of Columbia, North Dakota and South Dakota each had fewer than 3 such establishments, so the Census Bureau does not publish their figures. Together they account for the other 7 in the U.S. total.
Census County Business Patterns, 2023, methodology
Unwanted calls
258,515,050 phone numbers were on the National Do Not Call Registry on September 30, 2025.
FTC National Do Not Call Registry Data Book, FY 2025
Consumers filed 2,618,077 Do Not Call complaints in fiscal year 2025, up 26% from 2,085,410 in fiscal year 2024. That followed three straight yearly declines from 5,008,987 in fiscal year 2021.
FTC Data Book, FY 2025 (October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025)
Robocalls drew 61.2% of complaints (1,601,611) and live callers 30.6% (802,144); the rest did not say.
FTC Data Book, FY 2025
Arizona had the most complaints per 100,000 residents (1,028), followed by Tennessee (1,017). Hawaii had the fewest (393).
FTC Data Book, FY 2025; rates per 100,000 residents
The FCC received 125,199 unwanted-call complaints in 2025, 43.5% of its 287,531 consumer complaints and the most of any of its 29 issue categories. Billing came next with 59,686.
FCC consumer complaints data, 2025, retrieved November 12, 2026
Per 100,000 residents, FCC unwanted-call complaints were highest in Colorado (71.7) and lowest in Hawaii (18.4).
FCC consumer complaints data, 2025; Census Bureau population, Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025
Call recording
35.0% of U.S. residents live in the 11 states where recording a phone call needs everyone’s consent. See the call recording consent laws dataset.
Our study, laws checked October 29, 2026
Do Not Call complaints by fiscal year
Complaints to the FTC about calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, by call type. Federal fiscal years run October to September. Source: FTC Data Book, FY 2025.
| Fiscal year | Robocall | Live caller | Not reported | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2021 | 3,427,949 | 1,100,066 | 480,972 | 5,008,987 |
| FY 2022 | 1,844,210 | 889,891 | 320,136 | 3,054,237 |
| FY 2023 | 1,157,748 | 730,159 | 230,901 | 2,118,808 |
| FY 2024 | 1,099,229 | 764,138 | 222,043 | 2,085,410 |
| FY 2025 | 1,601,611 | 802,144 | 214,322 | 2,618,077 |
Front desk jobs and wages by state
Receptionists and information clerks (43-4171) and switchboard operators, including answering service (43-2011). n/p: not published by BLS for that state. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.
| State | Receptionists | Mean hourly | Median hourly | Switchboard & answering service operators | Operators’ mean hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 910,180 | $18.97 | $18.27 | 34,280 | $20.34 |
| Alabama | 10,460 | $15.65 | $15.67 | 680 | $15.80 |
| Alaska | 1,530 | $21.55 | $21.50 | n/p | $19.16 |
| Arizona | 23,220 | $19.28 | $18.62 | 380 | $19.89 |
| Arkansas | 10,870 | $16.75 | $16.75 | 260 | $17.00 |
| California | 82,470 | $22.16 | $21.20 | 6,680 | $26.13 |
| Colorado | 11,020 | $20.37 | $20.20 | 320 | $20.54 |
| Connecticut | 14,980 | $20.65 | $19.53 | 180 | $20.66 |
| Delaware | 2,880 | $18.34 | $17.46 | 180 | $18.08 |
| District of Columbia | 2,000 | $24.26 | $23.59 | 230 | $26.94 |
| Florida | 63,280 | $18.13 | $17.70 | 3,090 | $17.89 |
| Georgia | 26,080 | $17.38 | $17.36 | 780 | $19.25 |
| Hawaii | 3,510 | $20.88 | $20.00 | 410 | $27.42 |
| Idaho | 5,340 | $18.07 | $17.70 | 70 | $17.64 |
| Illinois | 40,370 | $19.00 | $17.98 | 1,240 | $20.87 |
| Indiana | 17,360 | $17.45 | $17.39 | 380 | $18.90 |
| Iowa | 4,660 | $18.00 | $17.95 | 210 | $19.23 |
| Kansas | 7,290 | $17.36 | $17.33 | 180 | $18.74 |
| Kentucky | 9,290 | $16.23 | $15.84 | 370 | $18.27 |
| Louisiana | 12,820 | $15.77 | $15.75 | n/p | $17.02 |
| Maine | 3,440 | $20.56 | $20.41 | 100 | $21.03 |
| Maryland | 18,390 | $19.34 | $18.32 | 650 | $18.89 |
| Massachusetts | 18,970 | $21.13 | $21.09 | 830 | $21.72 |
| Michigan | 25,230 | $18.50 | $18.02 | 370 | $18.90 |
| Minnesota | 11,800 | $18.63 | $18.04 | 200 | $23.18 |
| Mississippi | 6,920 | $15.46 | $14.98 | 200 | $14.94 |
| Missouri | 18,890 | $17.81 | $17.18 | 640 | $18.26 |
| Montana | 1,280 | $18.28 | $17.96 | 110 | $18.24 |
| Nebraska | 6,750 | $18.43 | $18.20 | 180 | $18.57 |
| Nevada | 10,650 | $18.51 | $17.81 | 650 | $18.69 |
| New Hampshire | 5,320 | $18.85 | $18.34 | 100 | $21.09 |
| New Jersey | 42,060 | $20.65 | $20.02 | 660 | $20.83 |
| New Mexico | 5,650 | $16.90 | $16.89 | 220 | $19.13 |
| New York | 65,010 | $21.56 | $20.71 | 1,760 | $24.01 |
| North Carolina | 20,080 | $17.04 | $17.04 | 690 | $18.55 |
| North Dakota | 1,930 | $19.61 | $19.00 | n/p | n/p |
| Ohio | 30,850 | $17.32 | $17.27 | 990 | $17.61 |
| Oklahoma | 9,380 | $16.35 | $16.61 | 480 | $17.15 |
| Oregon | 13,590 | $20.21 | $19.66 | n/p | n/p |
| Pennsylvania | 37,830 | $17.78 | $17.70 | 1,350 | $17.22 |
| Rhode Island | 4,270 | $20.35 | $20.49 | 130 | $20.35 |
| South Carolina | 11,280 | $16.99 | $17.07 | 480 | $16.98 |
| South Dakota | 5,760 | $18.47 | $18.40 | n/p | n/p |
| Tennessee | 11,460 | $16.98 | $16.79 | 680 | $16.97 |
| Texas | 78,330 | $17.17 | $16.93 | 3,640 | $16.26 |
| Utah | 12,020 | $17.94 | $17.77 | 50 | n/p |
| Vermont | 1,160 | $18.74 | $18.45 | 70 | $20.65 |
| Virginia | 23,360 | $18.32 | $17.82 | 610 | $18.02 |
| Washington | 26,500 | $21.97 | $21.49 | 430 | $23.14 |
| West Virginia | 5,470 | $15.85 | $15.34 | 110 | $17.70 |
| Wisconsin | 25,580 | $19.68 | $19.78 | 550 | $20.77 |
| Wyoming | 1,540 | $18.55 | $18.02 | n/p | n/p |
Telephone answering service businesses by state
Establishments with paid employees in NAICS 561421, employees in the pay period including March 12, and annual payroll in thousands of dollars. * High noise: the Census Bureau changed the employee count by 5% or more to protect confidentiality. n/p: not published (fewer than 3 establishments). Source: Census County Business Patterns, 2023.
| State | Establishments | Employees | Annual payroll ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1,035 | 41,582 | 1,610,519 |
| Alabama | 20 | 1,110 | 35,469 |
| Alaska | n/p | n/p | n/p |
| Arizona | 23 | 823* | 34,228 |
| Arkansas | 7 | 108 | 3,282 |
| California | 113 | 1,236 | 51,791 |
| Colorado | 16 | 177 | 11,229 |
| Connecticut | 18 | 499 | 17,468 |
| Delaware | 7 | 23 | 2,105 |
| District of Columbia | n/p | n/p | n/p |
| Florida | 111 | 4,443 | 143,009 |
| Georgia | 32 | 4,158* | 114,393 |
| Hawaii | 4 | 66 | 2,695 |
| Idaho | 11 | 697 | 35,895 |
| Illinois | 25 | 395 | 15,305 |
| Indiana | 17 | 213 | 6,366 |
| Iowa | 10 | 60* | 1,559 |
| Kansas | 12 | 207 | 6,755 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 1,109* | 33,450 |
| Louisiana | 18 | 275 | 9,885 |
| Maine | 7 | 70 | 2,077 |
| Maryland | 14 | 295 | 18,274 |
| Massachusetts | 25 | 930* | 105,337 |
| Michigan | 26 | 498 | 19,365 |
| Minnesota | 15 | 292 | 25,694 |
| Mississippi | 5 | 118 | 4,676 |
| Missouri | 15 | 130 | 5,005 |
| Montana | 5 | 44 | 1,562 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 93 | 3,357 |
| Nevada | 23 | 464 | 16,189 |
| New Hampshire | 3 | 18* | 652 |
| New Jersey | 22 | 490* | 19,765 |
| New Mexico | 8 | 108 | 4,662 |
| New York | 63 | 1,037 | 36,505 |
| North Carolina | 25 | 512 | 27,789 |
| North Dakota | n/p | n/p | n/p |
| Ohio | 31 | 712 | 27,387 |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 58 | 2,968 |
| Oregon | 16 | 1,138 | 36,494 |
| Pennsylvania | 43 | 1,103 | 50,275 |
| Rhode Island | 6 | 37 | 1,408 |
| South Carolina | 12 | 4,099 | 90,227 |
| South Dakota | n/p | n/p | n/p |
| Tennessee | 16 | 560* | 41,698 |
| Texas | 94 | 2,670 | 142,794 |
| Utah | 17 | 4,218* | 173,015 |
| Vermont | 3 | 58 | 1,901 |
| Virginia | 24 | 3,836* | 120,829 |
| Washington | 17 | 182 | 8,067 |
| West Virginia | 5 | 93* | 3,559 |
| Wisconsin | 21 | 1,797 | 69,720 |
| Wyoming | 4 | 10* | 279 |
Unwanted-call complaints by state
FTC: Do Not Call complaints in fiscal year 2025, with the FTC’s own rate per 100,000 residents and rank among the 50 states (Washington, DC is not ranked). FCC: complaints filed under “Unwanted Calls” in 2025, with our rate per 100,000 residents (Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025 Census estimates).
| State | FTC complaints | FTC per 100,000 | FTC rank | FCC complaints | FCC per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2,618,077 | 125,199 | |||
| Alabama | 39,335 | 778 | 21 | 1,808 | 34.8 |
| Alaska | 4,280 | 583 | 42 | 212 | 28.8 |
| Arizona | 74,752 | 1,028 | 1 | 3,207 | 42.1 |
| Arkansas | 24,063 | 793 | 18 | 807 | 25.9 |
| California | 304,497 | 776 | 22 | 13,908 | 35.3 |
| Colorado | 51,924 | 894 | 7 | 4,309 | 71.7 |
| Connecticut | 30,895 | 859 | 13 | 1,284 | 34.8 |
| Delaware | 7,870 | 782 | 20 | 319 | 30.1 |
| District of Columbia | 5,392 | 802 | Not ranked | 312 | 45.0 |
| Florida | 204,702 | 933 | 5 | 9,665 | 41.2 |
| Georgia | 89,691 | 829 | 14 | 4,369 | 38.7 |
| Hawaii | 5,675 | 393 | 50 | 264 | 18.4 |
| Idaho | 11,183 | 591 | 41 | 625 | 30.8 |
| Illinois | 119,697 | 943 | 4 | 4,325 | 34.0 |
| Indiana | 48,652 | 714 | 29 | 2,098 | 30.1 |
| Iowa | 15,926 | 498 | 47 | 894 | 27.6 |
| Kansas | 24,043 | 818 | 16 | 880 | 29.6 |
| Kentucky | 34,544 | 766 | 24 | 1,293 | 28.1 |
| Louisiana | 32,510 | 704 | 30 | 3,187 | 69.0 |
| Maine | 7,234 | 525 | 45 | 678 | 47.9 |
| Maryland | 46,490 | 753 | 26 | 2,693 | 43.0 |
| Massachusetts | 48,190 | 689 | 31 | 3,042 | 42.5 |
| Michigan | 86,552 | 861 | 12 | 3,822 | 37.7 |
| Minnesota | 29,991 | 525 | 46 | 1,310 | 22.5 |
| Mississippi | 21,459 | 727 | 28 | 898 | 30.4 |
| Missouri | 42,440 | 688 | 32 | 2,219 | 35.4 |
| Montana | 7,510 | 680 | 33 | 426 | 37.2 |
| Nebraska | 15,688 | 798 | 17 | 692 | 34.3 |
| Nevada | 30,159 | 960 | 3 | 1,357 | 41.3 |
| New Hampshire | 10,951 | 789 | 19 | 589 | 41.6 |
| New Jersey | 82,038 | 885 | 8 | 3,063 | 32.1 |
| New Mexico | 12,224 | 578 | 43 | 534 | 25.1 |
| New York | 125,810 | 633 | 37 | 5,316 | 26.6 |
| North Carolina | 92,392 | 873 | 9 | 5,539 | 49.5 |
| North Dakota | 3,310 | 425 | 49 | 148 | 18.5 |
| Ohio | 106,378 | 903 | 6 | 4,242 | 35.6 |
| Oklahoma | 34,510 | 864 | 11 | 1,751 | 42.5 |
| Oregon | 25,311 | 597 | 40 | 1,195 | 28.0 |
| Pennsylvania | 85,798 | 661 | 34 | 4,461 | 34.2 |
| Rhode Island | 4,836 | 441 | 48 | 334 | 30.0 |
| South Carolina | 39,444 | 757 | 25 | 1,931 | 34.7 |
| South Dakota | 4,902 | 545 | 44 | 193 | 20.6 |
| Tennessee | 71,061 | 1,017 | 2 | 3,192 | 43.6 |
| Texas | 228,370 | 770 | 23 | 10,079 | 31.8 |
| Utah | 20,261 | 608 | 39 | 1,152 | 32.6 |
| Vermont | 4,010 | 621 | 38 | 176 | 27.3 |
| Virginia | 75,408 | 871 | 10 | 3,851 | 43.4 |
| Washington | 64,053 | 827 | 15 | 4,182 | 52.3 |
| West Virginia | 13,021 | 730 | 27 | 406 | 23.0 |
| Wisconsin | 38,926 | 661 | 35 | 1,620 | 27.1 |
| Wyoming | 3,683 | 635 | 36 | 241 | 40.9 |
U.S. totals include complaints from Puerto Rico, other territories and complaints with no state.
What this means for business owners
- Answering phones is mostly one task among many. For every switchboard or answering service operator, whose job centers on the phone, BLS counts 26.6 receptionists and information clerks, who also deal with visitors and other front desk work.
- Answering services are a small, specialized industry. The Census Bureau counted 1,035 establishments with paid staff in 2023. When you compare providers, ask where their agents work and how they handle calls in your field.
- Unwanted calls are rising again. Do Not Call complaints rose 26% in fiscal year 2025. A callback from a number your customer does not know competes with that noise; answering the first call avoids the callback.
- Recording calls? Check the state rule first. In 11 states, everyone on the call must agree. Our recording consent dataset lists the rule and statute for each state. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Know what in-house coverage costs where you are. Our 24/7 coverage cost study puts receptionist wages for round-the-clock cover in every state.
Method
Jobs and wages. Employment and mean and median hourly wages for receptionists and information clerks (43-4171) and for switchboard operators, including answering service (43-2011), all industries, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025: national and state estimates.
Businesses. Establishments, mid-March employees and annual payroll for NAICS 561421, telephone answering services, from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns for 2023, all legal forms of organization. Payroll per employee is annual payroll divided by mid-March employees.
Do Not Call complaints.National, yearly and state figures from the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for fiscal year 2025 (October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025). The yearly totals are as printed in that edition. State rates and ranks are the FTC’s; the FTC bases them on 2023 U.S. Census population estimates, and we reproduced every rate from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 5-year population totals.
FCC complaints.Informal consumer complaints in the FCC’s open data set, counted by issue for complaints created in calendar year 2025 and, for “Unwanted Calls,” by the state the consumer gave. We divided each state’s count by its July 1, 2025 population (Census Vintage 2025). Retrieved November 12, 2026.
Every figure was then fetched a second time from a different table, endpoint or edition of the same source and compared.
Limits
- The periods differ by source: May 2025 for jobs and wages, 2023 for businesses, fiscal year 2025 for FTC complaints and calendar year 2025 for FCC complaints.
- The switchboard operator occupation includes answering service operators but also switchboard staff at hospitals, hotels and other employers. Answering service businesses also employ people in other occupations.
- County Business Patterns counts only establishments with paid employees and blurs each value slightly to protect confidentiality: under 2% for low-noise cells and 5% or more for high-noise cells, marked * in the table.
- Complaints count people who chose to complain, not all unwanted calls. One person can file more than one complaint, and the FTC and FCC count separately.
- The FTC revises its counts slightly as data are updated, so an earlier Data Book can show a small difference for the same year. We use the latest edition throughout.
- FCC complaints are unverified and are still being added to the open data set; counts for 2025 can change slightly after our retrieval date.
Sources
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national and state estimates, May 2025. www.bls.gov/oes/2025/may/oessrcst.htm
- Census Bureau County Business Patterns, NAICS 561421, 2023. www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/data/datasets.html
- County Business Patterns methodology (noise and publication rules), 2023. www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/technical-documentation/methodology.html
- FTC National Do Not Call Registry Data Book, FY 2025. www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/DNC-Data-Book-2025.pdf
- FCC consumer complaints data, 2025, retrieved November 12, 2026. opendata.fcc.gov/Consumer/CGB-Consumer-Complaints-Data/3xyp-aqkj
- Census Bureau state population estimates, Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025. www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-state-total.html
Cite this study
Answering365. (2026). Answering Service and Front Desk Statistics. Answering365 Research. https://answering365.com/research/answering-service-statistics/
Download the data: answering-service-statistics.csv. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Answering365 and a link to this page.
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