2027 Salary Guide · Sales & Customer Success
BLS has no BDR occupation, so this guide benchmarks business development representatives to services sales representatives, an occupation with a May 2025 median of $69,990 and a 2027 planning median of about $74,500. BDRs, who book meetings rather than close deals, usually sit in the lower part of that range: the 10th percentile was $37,980 and the 25th percentile $47,670. The bigger number on this page is the gap between those figures and what the same occupation pays once a rep starts closing.
Promotion path
BLS does not track promotions. This maps the usual sales development path onto the services sales percentiles to show how pay changes at each step.
About $38,000 to $48,000 (10th to 25th percentile)
Outbound calls, email sequences and qualifying inbound leads. Variable pay is usually tied to meetings held or pipeline created, not closed revenue.
Around the 25th percentile and above, about $48,000
Coaches newer reps, owns a segment or territory of prospecting, and is often first in line for the next AE opening.
About $48,000 to $70,000 (25th percentile to median)
Usually an SMB or commercial account executive seat. Commission now comes from closed deals, so pay depends on attainment.
About $70,000 to $100,000+ (median to 75th percentile)
Larger deals and longer cycles. The move from BDR to this level can be worth about $62,500 between the 10th and 75th percentiles.
Pay distribution
BLS has no separate line for BDRs or SDRs. The bar shows every services sales representative; the shaded band at the low end is where prospecting roles without a closing quota usually fall.
Typical for the Business Development Representative title: $37,980 to $69,990 (10th to 50th percentile of Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $37,980 | $40,500 |
| 25th percentile | $47,670 | $50,500 |
| Median | $69,990 | $74,500 |
| 75th percentile | $100,480 | $107,000 |
| 90th percentile | $148,840 | $158,000 |
Local pay
For a role at the bottom of the range, the local 25th percentile says more than the median. It is highest in the San Francisco Bay Area ($66,180), Seattle ($65,820) and Boston ($63,420), and lowest in Tampa ($42,910), a gap of about $23,270 for the same starting rung.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $96,960 +39% | $50,830 – $191,380 | 29,980 |
| New York City | $93,750 +34% | $46,370 – $176,300 | 91,680 |
| Boston | $83,420 +19% | $49,990 – $164,020 | 25,310 |
| Seattle | $82,540 +18% | $48,280 – $158,990 | 12,450 |
| Denver | $80,650 +15% | $45,250 – $164,530 | 24,480 |
| Los Angeles | $79,450 +14% | $43,340 – $152,940 | 50,470 |
| Atlanta | $78,950 +13% | $37,610 – $159,200 | 33,900 |
| Washington, DC | $78,110 +12% | $40,930 – $173,470 | 29,300 |
| Providence | $77,760 +11% | $43,260 – $132,350 | — |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $77,120 +10% | $42,910 – $154,620 | 14,070 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | $76,990 +10% | $39,990 – $150,360 | 13,130 |
| Phoenix | $74,910 +7% | $43,950 – $131,440 | 19,810 |
| Portland | $74,900 +7% | $40,250 – $143,330 | 7,530 |
| San Diego | $74,610 +7% | $41,250 – $151,560 | 11,730 |
| Hartford | $74,220 +6% | $43,040 – $163,460 | 3,800 |
| Buffalo | $73,070 +4% | $38,750 – $132,870 | 3,330 |
| Philadelphia | $71,020 +1% | $38,930 – $134,260 | 19,260 |
| Chicago | $70,710 +1% | $39,570 – $154,540 | 55,730 |
| Raleigh | $68,560 -2% | $39,720 – $154,720 | 8,970 |
| Albany | $68,050 -3% | $39,720 – $145,610 | 3,060 |
| Pittsburgh | $63,370 -9% | $36,670 – $132,020 | 7,330 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $63,280 -10% | $34,370 – $128,750 | 43,560 |
| Houston | $63,090 -10% | $33,190 – $130,960 | 28,720 |
| Nashville | $62,930 -10% | $34,770 – $121,420 | 9,370 |
| Austin | $62,900 -10% | $36,010 – $134,830 | 16,700 |
| Miami | $62,090 -11% | $35,990 – $129,950 | 30,300 |
| Charlotte | $61,850 -12% | $37,590 – $143,990 | 13,980 |
| Baltimore | $61,840 -12% | $34,830 – $128,850 | 11,340 |
| Tampa | $59,600 -15% | $37,250 – $127,710 | 16,050 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
Variable pay
BDR plans tend to be weighted more toward base salary than AE plans, because the rep does not control whether a deal closes. The metric chosen changes what a good month looks like.
Paying only on meetings that actually happen protects the AE's calendar but puts no-shows on the BDR. Ask which one the plan uses.
Some plans pay when the AE accepts the meeting as a real opportunity. The definition of "qualified" matters more than the rate.
A smaller kicker on deals the BDR sourced that later close. It rewards quality, but the payout can arrive months later.
Outbound-only roles often pay more per meeting than roles that mostly work inbound leads, since the meetings are harder to get.
Compare
This guide benchmarks account executives and customer success managers to the same BLS occupation as BDRs, so the table shows the same median for all three. The difference is where each title sits in the range, not a separate BLS figure.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Development Representative | $69,990 | $74,500 | Average |
| Account Executive | $69,990 | $74,500 | Average |
| Inside Sales Representative | $72,080 | $76,500 | Decline |
| Customer Success Manager | $69,990 | $74,500 | Average |
| Sales Coordinator | $47,540 | $50,500 | Decline |
For job seekers
The promotion is where the money is. A team with a clear, regular path to a closing role is worth more than a slightly higher base with no path.
Ask for the typical attainment on the team. A high on-target number that few reps reach is a lower offer than it looks.
New BDRs often get a reduced quota or guaranteed variable pay for the first months. Get it in writing.
Supporting enterprise AEs usually means fewer, harder meetings and higher per-meeting pay than supporting a high-volume SMB team.
Outlook
BLS expects about 115,700 openings a year for services sales representatives through 2035. Most come from people leaving or moving up, which is exactly how BDR seats open: reps get promoted into closing roles and the prospecting job is refilled.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel as a whole.
FAQ
BLS does not publish BDR pay. This guide uses services sales representatives, whose median was $69,990 in May 2025. BDRs usually earn less than that because they prospect rather than close. The 10th percentile for the occupation was $37,980 and the 25th percentile $47,670, which is the range most first-year BDR offers fall into.
Applying two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year to the BLS figures gives a 2027 planning estimate of about $40,500 at the 10th percentile and $50,500 at the 25th percentile. In the San Francisco Bay Area the 25th percentile was already $66,180 in May 2025.
In most companies the two titles are interchangeable. Companies use both titles for prospecting roles that set meetings for account executives. Where they differ, SDR often means working inbound leads and BDR means outbound prospecting. BLS does not distinguish them; this guide benchmarks both to services sales representatives.
BLS does not track promotions, but within the same occupation the 25th percentile was $47,670 and the 75th percentile $100,480 in May 2025. Moving from the lower band, where BDRs sit, to the upper band, where experienced account executives sit, is worth about $52,800 at those two points.
Most BDR plans include variable pay, but it is usually tied to meetings held, qualified opportunities or pipeline rather than closed revenue. BLS counts commissions and production bonuses as wages, so its percentiles include that variable pay where it was earned.
Careerscape recruiters who specialize in sales hiring can send a pre-screened shortlist of BDR candidates, for direct hire, contract-to-hire or temporary staffing. Job seekers never pay a fee.
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