Match the request to gear
Behind the equipment counter, check a request against product specs and stock before you offer a rental.
Career profile
Counter and Rental Clerk
Counter and rental clerks rent out items or book repairs and services on customers' belongings.
You turn a customer's request into a deal you each understand. It covers what they get, the price and what happens next.
A day in the life
Explain fees, then reserve dates
Walk the customer through the charges and return rules, then hold the item for their dates.
Write up a car rental
Staffing a car-rental counter, you finish the paperwork and describe add-ons suited to where and how they're traveling.
Check in a returned item
As a customer brings an item back, inspect its condition and then update that rental's record.
Tag items for cleaning or repair
Taking in items for cleaning or repair, you inspect each one and tag it with the work requested.
Quick facts
Learn on the job
United States · 2025
$41,300 median
United States · May 2025
3% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Learn on the jobTypically, no formal educational credential or related experience is needed, followed by short-term workplace training. Employers set their own hiring requirements.
Pay
$41,300 medianAbout $19.86 an hour nationally in May 2025.
Outlook
3% projected growthAbout 46,100 openings per year are projected nationally for 2025–35, including replacement openings.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy asking questions until you understand what someone needs.
- You like getting dates, prices, and records right.
- You are curious about how rental products differ.
Things to weigh
- You may handle an upset customer while other people are waiting.
- Airport rental jobs can involve changing shifts and pressure to sell extras.
Where AI may help
Some moving-truck rentals let customers complete pickup and return steps on a phone, reducing routine counter transactions.
What people still lead
People still explain choices and handle disagreements. U-Haul's mobile pickup also uses staff to verify customers remotely.
What we can’t predict yet
As self-service expands, the balance between counter transactions and helping customers through exceptions may change. How much staffing changes remains uncertain.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median is $41,300 a year, or $19.86 an hour. Half of workers earn less and half earn more; this is not a starting-pay promise.
The pay spread
In May 2025, the lowest-paid 10% earned $29,800 or less annually, while the highest-paid 10% earned $65,370 or more. These are wage percentiles, not beginner and experienced pay bands.
The workplace matters
Within rental and leasing businesses, the median for this occupation was $38,690 annually, or $18.60 hourly. That combines several kinds of rental businesses.
Check how incentives work
Some airport rental sales jobs add commissions or bonuses to hourly pay. Ask how much pay is guaranteed and what sales determine the rest.
Openings include replacements
Employment is projected to grow 3% during 2025–35, with about 46,100 openings annually. Openings include replacing workers who leave the occupation, not just newly created jobs.
Getting started
Join a counter that trains new hires
Paid
- What the route involves
- Apply for entry counter work and learn transactions and customer conversations on the job.
- What it can lead to
- You gain the workplace skills to handle routine rentals without a separate college program.
- What to check
- Some vehicle-rental roles require you to be at least 18 and hold a valid driver's license.
Bring customer-service experience
- What the route involves
- Build experience answering customers and handling transactions, then apply to equipment-rental counters.
- What it can lead to
- Experience can meet hiring requirements for work involving technical questions and rental quotes.
- What to check
- Some equipment-counter jobs require a high school diploma or equivalent and two years of customer-service experience.
You can enter through a job that provides training or bring customer-service experience to a more specialized counter.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get the basics right
Learn the fees and return rules, and make your transaction records accurate.
Handle more complicated requests
At equipment counters, develop your quoting skills and coordinate availability with inventory staff.
Move toward management or sales
Equipment-rental experience can lead toward operational management, with broader responsibility for how a branch runs.
- Outside sales is another direction if you prefer building customer relationships beyond the counter.
Where you can work
Airport car-rental counters
You serve travelers in a busy sales setting. Contracts and optional extras are central, and schedules can span different shifts.
- Indoors
- Shift work
Construction-equipment rental counters
You work with inventory staff and salespeople to arrange equipment pickups or deliveries. Product specifications and freight costs shape customer conversations.
- Indoors
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Invent a bicycle-rental rate sheet with an hourly price, return deadline, and late fee. Have a friend request a rental, change the return time, and question the total. Explain the charge and update a paper agreement. Notice whether you enjoy staying clear and accurate as the request changes.
Stay safe: Use made-up prices and customer details; no purchase or real rental is needed.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 41-2021.00 — Counter and Rental Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data for Occupations Not Covered in Detail — Counter and rental clerks. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- O*NET OnLine. National Wages: 41-2021.00 — Counter and Rental Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rental and Leasing Services: NAICS 532. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Avis Budget Group. Rental Sales Agent — Full Time, South Burlington. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Barnsco Texas. Equipment Rental Inside Sales Representative — Job Description. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Sunbelt Rentals. Equipment Rental Specialist. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- U-Haul. What is U-Haul Truck Share 24/7?. Accessed 2026-10-02.