• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

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)
3,684,740	0.7 %	$ 17.64	$ 36,690	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Retail Salespersons:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 11.42	$ 13.75	$ 16.19	$ 17.98	$ 23.13
Annual Wage (2)	$ 23,740	$ 28,600	$ 33,680	$ 37,390	$ 48,110

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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 Retailers	621,100	19.32	$ 16.50	$ 34,320
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers	492,610	56.76	$ 14.92	$ 31,040
Building Material and Supplies Dealers	423,960	34.18	$ 18.23	$ 37,910
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Retailers	238,830	47.53	$ 16.03	$ 33,330
Automobile Dealers	232,840	18.41	$ 29.99	$ 62,380

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	121,680	70.19	$ 14.65	$ 30,480
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers	492,610	56.76	$ 14.92	$ 31,040
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Retailers	66,420	53.48	$ 18.99	$ 39,510
Book Retailers and News Dealers	36,910	52.64	$ 14.43	$ 30,000
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Retailers	238,830	47.53	$ 16.03	$ 33,330

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	160	0.10	$ 34.25	$ 71,240
Automobile Dealers	232,840	18.41	$ 29.99	$ 62,380
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing	40	0.01	$ 29.60	$ 61,570
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	390	0.09	$ 28.26	$ 58,780
Rubber Product Manufacturing	90	0.06	$ 27.87	$ 57,960

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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	341,070	19.01	0.78	$ 20.07	$ 41,750
Florida	312,260	32.63	1.34	$ 16.92	$ 35,190
Texas	310,150	22.88	0.94	$ 16.08	$ 33,450
New York	228,150	24.29	1.00	$ 20.35	$ 42,330
Georgia	137,840	28.97	1.19	$ 15.70	$ 32,660

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	312,260	32.63	1.34	$ 16.92	$ 35,190
Wyoming	8,700	31.78	1.31	$ 16.73	$ 34,800
South Carolina	69,050	31.06	1.28	$ 15.24	$ 31,700
South Dakota	13,270	29.86	1.23	$ 19.05	$ 39,620
Alabama	60,700	29.57	1.22	$ 15.24	$ 31,690

Top paying states for Retail Salespersons:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington	87,590	25.06	1.03	$ 20.83	$ 43,320
New York	228,150	24.29	1.00	$ 20.35	$ 42,330
District of Columbia	4,640	6.62	0.27	$ 20.33	$ 42,290
California	341,070	19.01	0.78	$ 20.07	$ 41,750
Colorado	75,200	26.55	1.09	$ 19.57	$ 40,710

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	226,750	23.88	0.98	$ 20.68	$ 43,010
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	116,690	18.86	0.78	$ 20.08	$ 41,770
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	99,980	22.18	0.91	$ 18.65	$ 38,790
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	90,760	33.35	1.37	$ 17.50	$ 36,410
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	89,650	22.60	0.93	$ 16.71	$ 34,760
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	79,510	28.22	1.16	$ 16.43	$ 34,180
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	71,600	22.52	0.93	$ 16.23	$ 33,760
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	62,660	20.26	0.84	$ 18.81	$ 39,130
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	61,820	22.38	0.92	$ 19.76	$ 41,100
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	61,670	21.79	0.90	$ 17.46	$ 36,330

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	4,260	52.27	2.15	$ 14.94	$ 31,080
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	9,320	52.13	2.15	$ 14.52	$ 30,200
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	3,830	47.53	1.96	$ 15.81	$ 32,890
Punta Gorda, FL	2,450	45.98	1.90	$ 16.73	$ 34,790
Sebring, FL	1,240	44.76	1.84	$ 15.97	$ 33,220
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL	5,390	43.98	1.81	$ 16.34	$ 33,990
East Stroudsburg, PA	2,370	43.06	1.77	$ 15.33	$ 31,890
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL	2,380	42.96	1.77	$ 16.62	$ 34,560
Saginaw, MI	3,400	42.94	1.77	$ 16.29	$ 33,890
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV	1,540	42.89	1.77	$ 13.88	$ 28,870