How much does a teller make?

The median pay is $20.69 per hour — roughly $43,000 a year, with the real range running from about $16.52/hr (10th percentile) to $23.88/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a teller?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a teller actually do all day?

Balance currency, coin, and checks in cash drawers at ends of shifts and calculate daily transactions, using computers, calculators, or adding machines. Receive checks and cash for deposit, verify amounts, and check accuracy of deposit slips. Monitor bank vaults to ensure cash balances are correct.

Office & Administrative

Tellers

Receive and pay out money. Keep records of money and negotiable instruments involved in a financial institution's various transactions.

What it pays
Tellers earn a median of $20.69/hr — about $43,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.52/hr; the top 10% earn $23.88/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually do

Balance currency, coin, and checks in cash drawers at ends of shifts and calculate daily transactions, using computers, calculators, or adding machines.
Receive checks and cash for deposit, verify amounts, and check accuracy of deposit slips.
Monitor bank vaults to ensure cash balances are correct.
Cash checks and pay out money after verifying that signatures are correct, that written and numerical amounts agree, and that accounts have sufficient funds.
Count currency, coins, and checks received, by hand or using currency-counting machine, to prepare them for deposit or shipment to branch banks or the Federal Reserve Bank.
Enter customers' transactions into computers to record transactions and issue computer-generated receipts.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

The work is mostly indoors; you're around people constantly; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 0% of tellers are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused and take-charge.

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Quick questions

How much does a teller make?: The median pay is $20.69 per hour — roughly $43,000 a year, with the real range running from about $16.52/hr (10th percentile) to $23.88/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a teller?: The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
What does a teller actually do all day?: Balance currency, coin, and checks in cash drawers at ends of shifts and calculate daily transactions, using computers, calculators, or adding machines. Receive checks and cash for deposit, verify amounts, and check accuracy of deposit slips. Monitor bank vaults to ensure cash balances are correct.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.