Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

41-2031 Retail Salespersons

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

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National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
4,317,950	0.5 %	$14.12	$29,360	0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$9.09	$10.47	$12.14	$15.13	$20.57
Annual Wage (2)	$18,900	$21,780	$25,250	$31,480	$42,780

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Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
General Merchandise Stores	840,890	26.87	$12.38	$25,740
Clothing Stores	695,590	67.52	$13.07	$27,190
Building Material and Supplies Dealers	440,750	38.44	$14.97	$31,130
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores	269,760	55.50	$12.55	$26,110
Automobile Dealers	266,310	20.55	$21.28	$44,270

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Shoe Stores	145,420	71.37	$12.63	$26,260
Clothing Stores	695,590	67.52	$13.07	$27,190
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores	80,530	60.50	$15.32	$31,850
Book Stores and News Dealers	44,340	57.61	$11.93	$24,810
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores	269,760	55.50	$12.55	$26,110

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	50	0.01	$23.75	$49,390
Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Parts and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	5,070	1.44	$22.61	$47,030
Building Finishing Contractors	1,700	0.20	$21.41	$44,540
Automobile Dealers	266,310	20.55	$21.28	$44,270
Building Equipment Contractors	2,150	0.10	$21.23	$44,150

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Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	418,900	24.10	0.82	$15.79	$32,850
Texas	383,920	30.88	1.05	$13.29	$27,640
Florida	325,640	37.03	1.26	$13.35	$27,760
New York	288,630	30.31	1.03	$15.53	$32,310
Pennsylvania	159,180	26.97	0.92	$13.80	$28,710

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	24,940	39.24	1.33	$15.93	$33,130
Florida	325,640	37.03	1.26	$13.35	$27,760
New Hampshire	24,400	36.94	1.26	$14.24	$29,620
South Dakota	15,260	35.89	1.22	$14.72	$30,620
South Carolina	71,670	34.00	1.16	$13.07	$27,180

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	6,620	9.16	0.31	$17.56	$36,520
Washington	106,070	31.96	1.09	$17.08	$35,520
Connecticut	41,900	25.16	0.86	$16.46	$34,230
North Dakota	12,540	29.68	1.01	$16.11	$33,520
Hawaii	24,940	39.24	1.33	$15.93	$33,130

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

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	290,640	30.10	1.02	$15.53	$32,300
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	149,070	23.89	0.81	$15.86	$33,000
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	125,620	26.86	0.91	$13.94	$28,990
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	115,960	31.71	1.08	$13.68	$28,460
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	100,750	38.13	1.30	$13.40	$27,870
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	87,880	28.79	0.98	$12.51	$26,020
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	85,990	31.34	1.07	$13.02	$27,080
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	75,850	26.37	0.90	$14.81	$30,810
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	72,710	25.99	0.88	$15.18	$31,580
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	68,870	21.66	0.74	$14.65	$30,480