Retail Salespersons salary

What Retail Salespersons earn across the United States and in the largest metro areas — the official BLS OEWS May 2025 figures.

National wages — United States

Nationally, BLS estimates 3,897,860 Retail Salespersons jobs — 2.5% of all US employment. The national median wage is $35,410 a year ($17.03 an hour) and the mean is $37,310 a year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026.

Wage level	Hourly	Annual
Mean	$17.94	$37,310
10th percentile	$13.08	$27,210
25th percentile	$14.38	$29,900
Median (50th percentile)	$17.03	$35,410
75th percentile	$18.59	$38,670
90th percentile	$23.02	$47,890

Median pay by metro area

Metro area	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment	vs US median
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$43,850	$21.08	39,460	+23.8%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$42,080	$20.23	46,620	+18.8%
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$38,470	$18.50	40,340	+8.6%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$38,280	$18.40	202,080	+8.1%
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$37,810	$18.18	34,390	+6.8%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$37,700	$18.13	130,650	+6.5%
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$37,340	$17.95	28,230	+5.5%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$36,850	$17.72	64,150	+4.1%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$36,720	$17.66	41,270	+3.7%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$36,670	$17.63	51,180	+3.6%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$36,610	$17.60	66,920	+3.4%
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$35,960	$17.29	69,060	+1.6%
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$35,820	$17.22	96,950	+1.2%
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$35,130	$16.89	48,610	-0.8%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$34,810	$16.74	63,990	-1.7%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$34,800	$16.73	39,920	-1.7%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$34,330	$16.50	91,370	-3.0%
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$33,860	$16.28	29,660	-4.4%
St. Louis, MO-IL	$33,820	$16.26	29,750	-4.5%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$33,790	$16.25	45,130	-4.6%
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$33,580	$16.14	35,150	-5.2%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$33,400	$16.06	100,340	-5.7%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$32,850	$15.79	84,970	-7.2%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$32,290	$15.52	49,970	-8.8%
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$31,340	$15.07	78,960	-11.5%

Each metro page carries the full OEWS wage distribution, the employment figures, and the estimated take-home pay on that metro's median under 2026 tax rules.

Sources

Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. Take-home estimates are computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 rules.