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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.
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.
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.
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 October 31, 2024).