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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

41-2031 Retail Salespersons

Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers. Excludes “Cashiers” (41-2011).


National estimates for Retail Salespersons
Industry profile for Retail Salespersons
Geographic profile for Retail Salespersons

National estimates for Retail Salespersons:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Retail Salespersons:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
3,640,040 0.6 % $ 16.70 $ 34,730 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Retail Salespersons:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 10.86 $ 12.96 $ 14.71 $ 17.35 $ 22.69
Annual Wage (2) $ 22,590 $ 26,950 $ 30,600 $ 36,090 $ 47,200


Industry profile for Retail Salespersons:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Retail Salespersons are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Retail Salespersons, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Retail Salespersons:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
General Merchandise Retailers 643,230 19.98 $ 15.37 $ 31,970
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers 460,390 53.88 $ 13.85 $ 28,810
Building Material and Supplies Dealers 435,340 35.14 $ 17.07 $ 35,500
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Retailers 245,440 48.78 $ 15.12 $ 31,460
Automobile Dealers 237,760 18.98 $ 28.41 $ 59,090

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Retail Salespersons:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Shoe Retailers 119,560 69.38 $ 13.41 $ 27,880
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers 460,390 53.88 $ 13.85 $ 28,810
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Retailers 64,630 52.60 $ 18.07 $ 37,580
Book Retailers and News Dealers 38,470 52.26 $ 13.56 $ 28,200
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Retailers 245,440 48.78 $ 15.12 $ 31,460

Top paying industries for Retail Salespersons:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing 200 0.12 $ 34.92 $ 72,630
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 430 0.04 $ 32.67 $ 67,950
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 1,460 0.06 $ 31.58 $ 65,690
Residential Building Construction 4,490 0.50 $ 29.52 $ 61,410
Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Parts and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 5,590 1.57 $ 29.15 $ 60,640


Geographic profile for Retail Salespersons:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Retail Salespersons are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Retail Salespersons, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of retail salespersons by state, May 2022


States with the highest employment level in Retail Salespersons:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 327,690 18.58 0.75 $ 19.06 $ 39,650
Texas 314,060 24.17 0.98 $ 15.67 $ 32,580
Florida 298,000 32.35 1.31 $ 15.86 $ 32,980
New York 232,460 25.52 1.04 $ 19.23 $ 40,000
Georgia 137,880 29.89 1.21 $ 14.88 $ 30,940


Map of location quotient of retail salespersons by state, May 2022


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Retail Salespersons:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Florida 298,000 32.35 1.31 $ 15.86 $ 32,980
Wyoming 8,490 31.66 1.29 $ 15.50 $ 32,250
South Dakota 13,370 30.72 1.25 $ 17.83 $ 37,090
Montana 14,660 29.95 1.22 $ 16.13 $ 33,550
Georgia 137,880 29.89 1.21 $ 14.88 $ 30,940


Map of annual mean wages of retail salespersons by state, May 2022


Top paying states for Retail Salespersons:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 232,460 25.52 1.04 $ 19.23 $ 40,000
District of Columbia 3,470 5.02 0.20 $ 19.14 $ 39,810
California 327,690 18.58 0.75 $ 19.06 $ 39,650
Washington 85,750 25.18 1.02 $ 19.05 $ 39,630
Vermont 6,650 22.69 0.92 $ 18.97 $ 39,460



Map of employment of retail salespersons by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Retail Salespersons:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 231,800 25.24 1.03 $ 19.51 $ 40,570
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 111,800 18.33 0.74 $ 18.93 $ 39,380
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 102,020 23.10 0.94 $ 17.49 $ 36,380
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 93,080 24.47 0.99 $ 16.19 $ 33,680
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 87,340 33.29 1.35 $ 16.30 $ 33,910
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 81,140 29.75 1.21 $ 15.55 $ 32,350
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 71,190 23.31 0.95 $ 16.04 $ 33,350
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 64,530 23.30 0.95 $ 16.66 $ 34,650
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 61,180 20.21 0.82 $ 17.61 $ 36,630
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 59,890 22.15 0.90 $ 18.39 $ 38,260


Map of location quotient of retail salespersons by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Retail Salespersons:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL 4,250 54.03 2.20 $ 13.94 $ 29,000
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC 8,830 51.30 2.08 $ 13.78 $ 28,660
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV 1,620 46.06 1.87 $ 13.48 $ 28,040
Punta Gorda, FL 2,360 45.78 1.86 $ 15.36 $ 31,960
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC 3,420 43.90 1.78 $ 15.21 $ 31,640
Sebring, FL 1,160 43.82 1.78 $ 15.30 $ 31,830
Dothan, AL 2,450 42.17 1.71 $ 13.05 $ 27,150
Saginaw, MI 3,300 41.92 1.70 $ 15.16 $ 31,520
Jacksonville, NC 2,070 41.60 1.69 $ 14.09 $ 29,310
Rapid City, SD 2,870 41.14 1.67 $ 16.92 $ 35,180


Map of annual mean wages of retail salespersons by area, May 2022


Top paying metropolitan areas for Retail Salespersons:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 36,880 15.41 0.63 $ 21.47 $ 44,650
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 15,990 14.24 0.58 $ 21.34 $ 44,380
Carson City, NV 650 22.03 0.89 $ 21.15 $ 43,990
Napa, CA 1,770 23.95 0.97 $ 20.57 $ 42,790
Santa Rosa, CA 4,800 23.61 0.96 $ 19.94 $ 41,480
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 46,170 22.66 0.92 $ 19.75 $ 41,070
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 231,800 25.24 1.03 $ 19.51 $ 40,570
Ogden-Clearfield, UT 6,750 24.25 0.99 $ 19.41 $ 40,380
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 1,800 36.53 1.48 $ 19.29 $ 40,130
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 19,640 19.10 0.78 $ 19.11 $ 39,740

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Retail Salespersons:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 7,700 20.10 0.82 $ 15.09 $ 31,380
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 6,520 28.77 1.17 $ 13.29 $ 27,630
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 6,450 24.63 1.00 $ 16.17 $ 33,640
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) 6,330 19.66 0.80 $ 15.63 $ 32,510
South Georgia nonmetropolitan area 6,310 33.45 1.36 $ 13.36 $ 27,780

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Retail Salespersons:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 4,840 39.24 1.59 $ 17.90 $ 37,240
East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 5,320 38.45 1.56 $ 13.56 $ 28,210
Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 3,760 36.80 1.50 $ 17.45 $ 36,300
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 4,280 35.42 1.44 $ 16.77 $ 34,890
Northeast Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 2,570 34.87 1.42 $ 16.43 $ 34,180

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Retail Salespersons:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 1,530 22.63 0.92 $ 19.26 $ 40,050
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 2,520 24.16 0.98 $ 18.88 $ 39,270
Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 2,320 23.39 0.95 $ 18.83 $ 39,170
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,340 22.00 0.89 $ 18.80 $ 39,090
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,690 16.76 0.68 $ 18.68 $ 38,840


About May 2022 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2023