Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners Salary in the United States
The median annual wage for court reporters and simultaneous captioners in the U.S. is $72,420 ($34.82 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $72,420
- Mean annual wage
- $78,760
- Median hourly wage
- $34.82
- Employment
- 12,870
12,870 employed
Wage percentiles
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $42,130 | $20.26 |
| 25th percentile | $53,760 | $25.85 |
| Median (50th) | $72,420 | $34.82 |
| 75th percentile | $100,780 | $48.45 |
| 90th percentile | $130,560 | $62.77 |
Highest-paying states for court reporters and simultaneous captioners
| State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| California | $116,020 | 1,400 |
| Texas | $110,080 | 1,270 |
| Washington | $107,670 | 80 |
| New York | $101,990 | 1,400 |
| Iowa | $93,810 | 160 |
| Rhode Island | $92,250 | 60 |
| Minnesota | $83,680 | 320 |
| Colorado | $83,010 | 260 |
| Massachusetts | $79,940 | 50 |
| Arizona | $77,770 | 70 |
Lowest-paying states
- Delaware: $44,760 median annual wage
- Maine: $49,110 median annual wage
- Florida: $49,240 median annual wage
- Kentucky: $50,350 median annual wage
- Indiana: $54,740 median annual wage
About this occupation
Use verbatim methods and equipment to capture, store, retrieve, and transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings or other information. Includes stenocaptioners who operate computerized stenographic captioning equipment to provide captions of live or prerecorded broadcasts for hearing-impaired viewers.
Typical tasks
- Provide transcripts of proceedings upon request of judges, lawyers, or the public.
- Transcribe recorded proceedings in accordance with established formats.
- Respond to requests during court sessions to read portions of the proceedings already recorded.
- Record depositions and other proceedings for attorneys.
- Type court orders for judges.
- Verify accuracy of transcripts by checking copies against original records of proceedings and accuracy of rulings by checking with judges.
Education of the current workforce — typical entry: Postsecondary certificate
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Less than high school diploma | 1.2% |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 16.6% |
| Some college, no degree | 26.4% |
| Associate's degree | 31.2% |
| Bachelor's degree | 20.0% |
| Master's degree | 3.6% |
| Doctoral or professional degree | 1.0% |
Occupation profile data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
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About this data
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- CareerOneStop Occupation Profiles — data period 2026-08, retrieved August 14, 2026.
Figures are shown exactly as published by the source or derived by the documented formulas on our methodology page. Where a source suppresses an estimate, we show “—” rather than a substitute value.