$Who Earns What

How much does a salesperson make?

US Sales and Related Workers, All Other

Answer: A typical salesperson in the United States makes $48,280 a year (median, May 2025, US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Yearly pay of a typical person doing this job in the US
$48,280

Line up 100 people; this is the one in the middle (median). about 93,000 people work in this job. About the same as the US-wide typical pay ($50,980).

Lower earner
$29,720
10th from the bottom of 100
Typical person
$48,280
Right in the middle (median)
Higher earner
$97,910
10th from the top of 100

If 100 people had this job

Lowest at bottom-left, highest at top-right

Hover over a person to see their yearly pay

48 of 100
not many

Salesperson pay in the United States (May 2025, median and spread)

Salesperson pay in the United States (May 2025, median and spread) — Data: US BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lower earner (10th from bottom)Typical person (median)Higher earner (10th from top)People in this job
$29,720$48,280$97,910about 93,000
States where salespersons earn the most (median, May 2025)
StateTypical person (median)People in this job
Washington$75,100about 3,000
New Jersey$74,520about 4,000
Colorado$60,670about 6,000
Utah$59,170about 810
New York$55,270about 1,000

Why does pay differ?

In the U.S., pay can differ with experience, useful skills or licenses, the employer and industry, and local demand and living costs. More complex work, hours worked, and commission or results-based pay can also change earnings.

What if you lived in a different state?

Pay varies a lot by state in the US
Whole US$48,280
Washington$75,100
New Jersey$74,520
Colorado$60,670
Utah$59,170
New York$55,270
Iowa$35,250
Missouri$34,270
Louisiana$31,990

Top 5 and bottom 3 states, typical (median) yearly pay.

What does a salesperson do?

All sales and related workers not listed separately.

What's a typical day like?

Each day depends on the specialty: a salesperson may find buyers, prepare a pitch, explain or show an item or service, and answer questions. They may also record sales or follow up with interested customers.

How to get this job

In the U.S., a high-school diploma or equivalent is the usual entry point, and related experience is not required for this catch-all. There is no one starting age or license for every role, so check the exact job and state for any required course or exam.

Did you know?

Surprise: this U.S. catch-all sales category includes both auctioneers and blood-donor recruiters—very different kinds of sales-related work!

Earn more in the same field

Sales jobs that pay a bit more

Sources and data

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (bls.gov); descriptions and related jobs from O*NET 31.0. Figures as of May 2025, full-time yearly pay (hourly × 2,080 hours). bls.gov/oes · O*NET OnLine

Pages used for the text

Data: US BLS OEWS, May 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY