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As originally published, the median wage for retail salespeople in the first sentence was incorrect. It was corrected to $10.29 per hour on December 4, 2015.

Median wage $18.06 per hour for retail sales people at automobile dealers

December 03, 2015

The median wage of the 4,562,160 retail salespeople employed in the United States was $10.29 per hour in May 2014. The median wage of the 253,850 retail salespeople who worked for automobile dealers was $18.06.

Median hourly wages and employment of retail salespersons by industry, May 2014
Industry Median hourly wage Employment

Total, all industries

$10.29 4,562,160

Automobile Dealers

18.06 253,850

Other Motor Vehicle Dealers

14.67 32,990

Automotive Parts, Accessories, and Tire Stores

11.48 72,640

Furniture Stores

12.98 89,350

Home Furnishings Stores

10.58 126,720

Electronics and Appliance Stores

11.23 227,820

Building Material and Supplies Dealers

12.27 419,880

Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores

11.15 44,730

Grocery Stores

10.29 57,430

Specialty Food Stores

9.85 39,620

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores

10.42 28,450

Health and Personal Care Stores

10.33 160,740

Gasoline Stations

9.55 16,260

Clothing Stores

9.32 774,460

Shoe Stores

9.29 146,910

Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores

11.31 89,970

Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores

9.71 319,040

Book Stores and News Dealers

9.20 48,520

Department Stores

9.42 536,860

Other General Merchandise Stores

9.89 420,380

Florists

9.62 12,720

Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores

9.39 146,580

Used Merchandise Stores

9.38 63,800

Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers

10.08 108,620

Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses

11.80 15,740

Vending Machine Operators

10.49 130

Direct Selling Establishments

10.99 7,420

Note: Total includes industries not shown separately.

Median wages for salespeople at other motor vehicle dealers ($14.67), furniture stores ($12.98), and building material and supplies dealers ($12.27) were also well above the median for all industries.

Median hourly wages for salespeople working in department stores, office supplies, stationery, and gift stores, used merchandise stores, clothing stores (which employed the largest number of retail salespeople, 774,460), shoe stores, and book stores and news dealers were all below $9.50—roughly half the wage of automobile salespeople.

These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program, which has more data for workers in the retail salespeople occupation. Median wages are the halfway point between the lowest and highest wage of a group of workers; half the workers in the group earn less, and half earn more, than the median wage.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Median wage $18.06 per hour for retail sales people at automobile dealers at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/median-wage-18-point-06-per-hour-for-retail-salespeople-at-automobile-dealers.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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