Sales Jobs: Every Major Occupation’s Pay, Ranked (May 2025 BLS Data)
- The median annual wage for sales and related occupations was $38,530 in May 2025, below the $50,980 median for all U.S. jobs.
- The group employed about 13,424,300 people nationwide.
- Its best-paid occupation with at least 10,000 jobs was sales engineers ($124,900); the lowest-paid was cashiers ($32,880).
BLS sorts every job in the country into 22 major occupational groups. This one, “Sales and Related Occupations” (SOC 41-0000), covers the occupations below. All pay and job counts come from the BLS OEWS national data, May 2025; the typical entry education for each job comes from BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35. Use the tables to see where your job sits in its field and which nearby jobs pay more.
Highest-paying jobs in the group
Occupations with at least 10,000 U.S. jobs, ranked by median annual wage:
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Hourly median | U.S. jobs | Typical entry education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Engineers | $124,900 | $60.05 | 51,790 | Bachelor's degree |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products | $104,920 | $50.44 | 284,800 | Bachelor's degree |
| First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers | $87,520 | $42.08 | 214,390 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents | $78,660 | $37.82 | 489,570 | Bachelor's degree |
| Real Estate Brokers | $73,220 | $35.20 | 46,100 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | $72,080 | $34.65 | 1,238,190 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | $69,990 | $33.65 | 1,256,010 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Advertising Sales Agents | $64,820 | $31.16 | 91,700 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Insurance Sales Agents | $62,280 | $29.94 | 479,100 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Real Estate Sales Agents | $52,830 | $25.40 | 193,370 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Travel Agents | $50,160 | $24.11 | 55,110 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers | $48,520 | $23.33 | 1,121,800 | High school diploma or equivalent |
Lowest-paying jobs in the group
| Occupation | Median annual wage | U.S. jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Cashiers | $32,880 | 3,089,410 |
| Retail Salespersons | $35,410 | 3,897,860 |
| Telemarketers | $35,450 | 58,430 |
| Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers | $36,220 | 21,530 |
| Parts Salespersons | $38,630 | 270,070 |
The most common jobs in the group
These are the occupations most people in this field actually hold:
| Occupation | U.S. jobs | 10th percentile | Median | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 3,897,860 | $27,210 | $35,410 | $47,890 |
| Cashiers | 3,089,410 | $24,530 | $32,880 | $40,410 |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 1,256,010 | $37,980 | $69,990 | $148,840 |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 1,238,190 | $39,090 | $72,080 | $137,550 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers | 1,121,800 | $33,120 | $48,520 | $77,080 |
| Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents | 489,570 | $48,040 | $78,660 | $212,880 |
| Insurance Sales Agents | 479,100 | $37,330 | $62,280 | $138,140 |
| Counter and Rental Clerks | 400,810 | $29,800 | $41,300 | $65,370 |
Where sales and related jobs pay the most
States with the highest median wage for the whole group (BLS OEWS state data, May 2025):
| State | Group median wage | Jobs in the group |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | $47,510 | 294,020 |
| Colorado | $47,440 | 296,260 |
| District of Columbia | $46,870 | 20,510 |
| New Jersey | $45,520 | 362,000 |
| California | $45,400 | 1,454,670 |
The lowest group medians were in Mississippi ($30,340), West Virginia ($30,360), Arkansas ($32,020). Part of the gap reflects living costs and part reflects which jobs in the group are common in each state.
No bachelor’s degree? The best-paid job in this group with a typical entry requirement below a four-year degree was First-Line supervisors of Non-Retail sales workers, at a median of $87,520 (high school diploma or equivalent typically needed).
How to use this for a raise or a move
- Benchmark inside your field. Find your occupation in the tables and compare your pay with its median and with the 10th and 90th percentiles.
- Look one step over. The best-paid jobs in a group often use the same skills as the common ones. A certificate or license can move you up a row.
- Location matters. The state table shows how much the same kind of work pays in different places.
- Base pay only. OEWS wages exclude overtime, tips and most bonuses.
Published October 29, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
Header image: original chart by JobPayRaise.com using BLS OEWS May 2025 data.
Comments (1)
One more data point: the state where sales and related jobs make up the largest share of local employment is Florida, with a location quotient of 1.23 (1,055,160 jobs at a group median of $37,310). A location quotient above 1 means the group is a bigger share of the state’s jobs than it is nationally. Source: BLS OEWS state data, May 2025; location quotients are explained in the BLS OEWS overview.
— JobPayRaise Data Desk