• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

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 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)
3,693,490	0.3 %	$ 15.35	$ 31,920	0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for Retail Salespersons:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 10.50	$ 11.30	$ 14.00	$ 16.88	$ 21.85
Annual Wage (2)	$ 21,840	$ 23,500	$ 29,120	$ 35,110	$ 45,460

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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 Stores	708,760	22.98	$ 13.88	$ 28,870
Clothing Stores	474,450	62.40	$ 13.20	$ 27,450
Building Material and Supplies Dealers	462,020	37.04	$ 15.86	$ 32,980
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores	250,720	54.67	$ 13.93	$ 28,960
Automobile Dealers	233,420	19.13	$ 24.62	$ 51,210

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 Stores	115,260	70.23	$ 12.83	$ 26,690
Clothing Stores	474,450	62.40	$ 13.20	$ 27,450
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores	58,650	54.86	$ 16.98	$ 35,320
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores	250,720	54.67	$ 13.93	$ 28,960
Book Stores and News Dealers	29,480	54.30	$ 12.62	$ 26,250

Top paying industries for Retail Salespersons:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Support Activities for Air Transportation	80	0.04	$ 34.02	$ 70,760
Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing	910	0.51	$ 29.13	$ 60,590
Business Schools and Computer and Management Training	(8)	(8)	$ 28.51	$ 59,310
Truck Transportation	200	0.01	$ 27.11	$ 56,390
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	(8)	(8)	$ 27.00	$ 56,160

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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.

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	344,380	20.83	0.79	$ 17.46	$ 36,310
Texas	321,980	26.34	1.00	$ 14.54	$ 30,230
Florida	293,350	34.09	1.30	$ 14.35	$ 29,850
New York	220,930	25.48	0.97	$ 17.58	$ 36,560
Illinois	132,650	23.61	0.90	$ 15.53	$ 32,310

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	293,350	34.09	1.30	$ 14.35	$ 29,850
New Hampshire	20,480	32.24	1.23	$ 16.07	$ 33,420
South Carolina	66,110	31.98	1.22	$ 12.99	$ 27,020
Mississippi	35,100	31.86	1.22	$ 13.23	$ 27,510
South Dakota	13,280	31.54	1.20	$ 16.04	$ 33,360

Top paying states for Retail Salespersons:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington	89,010	27.76	1.06	$ 17.89	$ 37,210
New York	220,930	25.48	0.97	$ 17.58	$ 36,560
California	344,380	20.83	0.79	$ 17.46	$ 36,310
Alaska	7,450	25.19	0.96	$ 17.44	$ 36,270
District of Columbia	4,150	6.27	0.24	$ 17.36	$ 36,120

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	222,410	25.63	0.98	$ 17.86	$ 37,140
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	120,220	21.02	0.80	$ 17.29	$ 35,970
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	103,040	24.34	0.93	$ 15.83	$ 32,930
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	96,580	26.91	1.03	$ 14.95	$ 31,100
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	85,870	35.02	1.34	$ 14.62	$ 30,410
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	77,830	30.07	1.15	$ 14.14	$ 29,410
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	70,670	24.39	0.93	$ 15.04	$ 31,290
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	65,340	24.61	0.94	$ 15.45	$ 32,130
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	62,510	21.32	0.81	$ 16.37	$ 34,060
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	59,730	23.11	0.88	$ 17.42	$ 36,240

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	4,330	58.20	2.22	$ 12.88	$ 26,800
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	8,980	55.35	2.11	$ 12.52	$ 26,050
Punta Gorda, FL	2,370	48.39	1.85	$ 14.12	$ 29,380
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV	1,660	47.81	1.82	$ 12.56	$ 26,130
Jacksonville, NC	2,220	46.20	1.76	$ 13.08	$ 27,200
Sebring, FL	1,140	44.75	1.71	$ 13.25	$ 27,560
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL	5,020	43.93	1.68	$ 14.01	$ 29,140
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL	2,290	43.92	1.68	$ 12.30	$ 25,590
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	3,280	43.76	1.67	$ 13.61	$ 28,310
Dothan, AL	2,470	43.71	1.67	$ 11.98	$ 24,920