Call Center Agent Jobs in New York, NY

New York runs some of the busiest phone lines in the country, from NYC311's 17 million calls a year to the MTA's 511 contact center at 2 Broadway. Call center agents here typically start near $40,000, and bilingual agents are in steady demand. Current openings are below.

Current call center agent Openings in New York, NY

Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.

Call Center Agent Work in New York

The biggest call floors in the five boroughs belong to public agencies and health plans rather than banks or telecom carriers. NYC311, run by the Office of Technology and Innovation, handled 36.5 million contacts in 2025, around 100,000 a day, and stays open 24 hours with interpretation in more than 175 languages. The MTA staffs its subway and bus 511 Customer Contact Center out of 2 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, and runs a separate employee customer management center at 333 West 34th Street. Health plans such as Healthfirst run large phone teams whose schedules expand to seven days a week from October through March.

What makes the work different here is language. Agents who speak Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Korean, Polish or Haitian Creole are recruited by name in postings from Con Edison and Healthfirst. City agency jobs usually require New York City residency within 90 days of hire.

Top New York Employers Hiring Call Center Agents

These employers post call center and contact center roles for New York City on their own career sites:

• NYC311 - the city's 24-hour non-emergency line hires under the Call Center Representative civil service title through a DCAS exam.
• MTA New York City Transit - hires Transit Customer Service Specialists for the 511 Customer Contact Center at 2 Broadway, with telework and varied hours.
• Healthfirst - the nonprofit health plan hires remote Service Agents and on-site bilingual Field Service Agents in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
• Con Edison - the utility posts bilingual customer service representative roles and provides paid training.
• EmblemHealth - the health insurer hires office-based representatives who need at least a year of call center experience.
• Justworks - the payroll and benefits company staffs a phone-heavy support team at 55 Water Street in the Financial District.

Call Center Agent Salaries in New York

• Entry level: about $18 to $21 an hour, or $37,000 to $43,000 a year. NYC311 starts at $39,486 and rises to $45,409 after two years.
• Experienced: roughly $21 to $30 an hour. Healthfirst posts $39,208 to $52,000 for remote agents in the New York area, and MTA 511 specialists start at $49,347.
• Senior and specialist: $30 to $37 or more an hour, including benefits and billing specialists and MTA Specialist II roles that reach $74,221.

These are estimates built from BLS May 2025 wage data for the New York metro and pay ranges posted by employers under the city's pay transparency law. Language skills, union coverage, evening and weekend shifts, and specialized knowledge such as benefits or billing move pay the most. The New York City minimum wage is $17.00 an hour in 2026.

How to Become a Call Center Agent in New York

There is no state license for call center work in New York. Most private employers ask for a high school diploma or equivalent and some customer service experience, then train you on their systems; Healthfirst runs an eight-week paid training class. City jobs work differently: NYC311 hires from the Call Center Representative exam list, which needs a bachelor's degree, an associate degree plus a year of experience, or a high school diploma plus two years of computer or customer service experience. The free NYC Workforce1 Career Centers, including 400 East Fordham Road in the Bronx and 9 Bond Street in Downtown Brooklyn, help with resumes and refer candidates to open roles.

What the Job Involves

Call center agents answer inbound calls, chats and emails, look up accounts, answer questions about bills, benefits or service, log complaints and service requests, and escalate problems they cannot solve. The day is measured, and handle time, first-call resolution, quality scores and schedule adherence are all tracked.

Skills Employers Look For

• Clear, calm phone communication
• Typing at 40 words per minute or better
• Comfort using a CRM and several screens at once
• De-escalation with upset callers
• A second language, especially Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese or Russian
• Reliable attendance and schedule flexibility

Career Path and Advancement

Many New York employers post the promotion ladder in the job title itself. At NYC311 the promotion line runs from Call Center Representative to Associate Call Center Representative and then to call center supervisor. At the MTA, 511 agents move from Specialist I to Specialist II, and larger contact centers add quality assurance, training, escalation and team lead roles. Agents who enjoy troubleshooting often move into technical support.

Related Careers in New York

If call center work interests you, these related New York roles are close matches:

• Customer Service Representative Jobs
• Technical Support Representative Jobs
• Receptionist Jobs
• Administrative Assistant Jobs

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do call center agents make in New York?

Most New York call center agents earn about $18 to $30 an hour. The metro median for customer service representatives was $23.84 an hour in May 2025, and posted ranges run from $39,486 at NYC311 to more than $60,000 for experienced MTA 511 specialists.

How do I get a job at NYC311?

NYC311 agents are hired under the civil service title Call Center Representative. You apply for the DCAS exam when it opens, and the city hires from the resulting list. The 2025 exam fee was $54, waivable for some applicants.

Are there remote call center jobs in New York?

Yes, but they come with conditions. Healthfirst hires remote Service Agents who live in New York or other approved states and requires a wired internet connection and a private workspace, and the MTA's 511 role allows telework. Many other roles are on-site or hybrid.

Do bilingual call center agents get hired faster in New York?

Often, yes. Con Edison posts representative roles specifically for Polish, Russian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Spanish speakers, and Healthfirst recruits Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese speakers for its field and phone teams.

What shifts do New York call centers run?

It depends on the line. NYC311 is open 24 hours a day, every day, so it staffs nights, weekends and holidays. Healthfirst agents work shifts between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., expanding to seven days a week from October through March, while office support teams like Justworks keep weekday business hours.

Ready to apply? Browse all Call Center Agent jobs in New York, NY on LocalJobPage and apply today.