Locations / Cleveland, OH
Cleveland, OH
Managed Filipino staff for Cleveland businesses.
Trained, managed operations staff and pods for Cleveland-area marketing agencies, property managers and more. Monthly or hourly, working your hours.
Bookkeeping assistant, per hour. Local = May 2025 BLS median wage for the Cleveland metro plus about 30% employer costs.
The Cleveland market
Who does business in Cleveland.
In 2024 the Cleveland metro had 1,200 plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors, the largest of the five markets we serve. The most distinctive is advertising, PR and marketing agencies: they make up 1.19 times their national share of local businesses. Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms grew fastest, up 100.0% on 2023. For accounting and bookkeeping firms per resident, Cleveland ranks 22nd of the 50 largest US metros.
| Industry | Businesses | Per 100k residents | Change on 2023 | Concentration vs US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising, PR and marketing agencies | 503 | 23 | +100.0% | 1.19× |
| Property management and related real estate firms | 884 | 41 | +100.0% | 1.15× |
| Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms | 1,116 | 52 | +100.0% | 1.14× |
| Insurance agencies and brokerages | 1,128 | 52 | +100.0% | 1.12× |
| Plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors | 1,200 | 55 | +100.0% | 0.97× |
Business counts: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages, private sector, Cleveland metropolitan area. Concentration compares each industry’s share of local businesses with its share nationally (1.00× = the US average). Per-resident figures use 2025 population estimates.
What a local hire costs in Cleveland
The cost of a seat in Cleveland, role by role.
Cleveland has the 40th highest median wage for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks among the 50 largest US metros. Even at the top of our draft range, a managed Molave role costs about 21% less per hour than a local hire with employer costs. The gap is narrower here than in coastal metros, so the case rests as much on training, management and cover as on price. Most Cleveland bookkeepers earn between $21.04 and $28.38 an hour.
| Role | Cleveland median wage | With employer costs | Molave (draft) | Less, at our top rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping assistantBLS: Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks | $23.49 | $30.54 | $14–$24 | 21% |
| Marketing productionBLS: Market research analysts and marketing specialists (more senior than most production roles, so this overstates the gap) | $34.30 | $44.59 | $14–$24 | 46% |
| Customer service / CSRBLS: Customer service representatives | $22.14 | $28.78 | $10–$16 | 44% |
| Admin / operations assistantBLS: Secretaries and administrative assistants | $22.17 | $28.82 | $10–$16 | 44% |
Wages: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, median hourly wage for the Cleveland metropolitan area. “With employer costs” adds about 30% for payroll taxes and benefits, rounded from BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. Molave rates are draft ranges. BLS categories are the closest match to each role, not an exact one. The Cleveland metro employs 8,660 bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks and 5,440 marketing specialists and analysts, according to the BLS.
Your team works your day.
Molave staff work Cleveland business hours. In Manila that’s a night shift, which is standard in the Filipino outsourcing industry and something we plan around from day one.
Nearby metros
Bookkeeping costs around Cleveland.
Cleveland sits in the middle of its region: $1.11 an hour below Columbus and $0.77 above Pittsburgh at the median.
| Metro | Median wage | Middle 50% earn | Firms (2024) | Change on 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland, OH | $23.49 | $21.04–$28.38 | 1,116 | +100.0% |
| Cincinnati, OH | $23.84 | $21.27–$28.91 | 1,069 | +2.1% |
| Columbus, OH | $24.60 | $22.00–$28.76 | 964 | +2.3% |
| Indianapolis, IN | $23.44 | $20.29–$28.68 | 884 | +5.2% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $22.72 | $19.83–$27.80 | 945 | +1.0% |
Industries
Who we support in Cleveland.
Ordered by how concentrated each industry is in Cleveland.
Plug in trained production capacity for SEO, reporting, CRM and client operations.
503 advertising, PR and marketing agencies in the Cleveland metro.
In Cleveland → Property managementA trained operations team for tenant, vendor and listing work.
884 property management and related real estate firms in the Cleveland metro.
Explore → Bookkeeping & CASA trained offshore accounting operations bench, not a random VA.
1,116 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms in the Cleveland metro.
In Cleveland → Insurance agenciesTrained service support that works behind your licensed producers.
1,128 insurance agencies and brokerages in the Cleveland metro.
Explore → Home servicesA remote back office that keeps calls, estimates and follow-up moving.
1,200 plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors in the Cleveland metro.
Explore →Cleveland questions
Straight answers, with local numbers.
How many accounting and bookkeeping firms are in the Cleveland area?
1,116 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms, based on 2024 BLS data, +100.0% on the year before. That’s 52 for every 100,000 residents.
What does a bookkeeper cost in Cleveland?
The median wage for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks in the Cleveland metro is $23.49 an hour (May 2025), and most earn between $21.04 and $28.38. With payroll taxes and benefits, a median hire costs about $30.54 an hour. A managed Molave bookkeeping assistant costs $14–$24 an hour.
Can Molave staff work Cleveland hours?
Yes. Staff work Cleveland business hours. A 9am–5pm day in Cleveland is 9pm–5am in Manila during US daylight saving time and 10pm–6am in winter, a night shift that’s standard in the Filipino outsourcing industry.
Book a staffing call
Start with one role in Cleveland.
Tell us what’s stuck. We’ll come back with the role, the person and the price, with no upfront recruiting fee.