2027 Salary Guide · Sales & Customer Success
Two years of 3.1% wage growth on a $124,900 BLS median from May 2025 puts the 2027 sales engineer planning figure near $133,000. What they sell matters more than almost anything else: BLS reports a median of $153,410 for sales engineers at software publishers and $103,140 in manufacturing, a gap of about $50,000 for the same occupation.
What moves pay
Sales engineers at software publishers ($153,410) and computer systems design firms ($150,080) earn far more at the median than those at durable-goods wholesalers ($107,910) or manufacturers ($103,140).
BLS says employers usually pay sales engineers a salary plus commission or a salary plus bonus. Commission is usually a share of what is sold; bonuses can depend on individual, team or company results.
BLS says most sales engineers need a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field, and it expects employment growth to be strongest for those selling computer software and hardware.
BLS notes that some sales engineers travel extensively and are away from home several days a month. Price travel-heavy roles with that in mind.
By industry
Together these industries hold about 72% of sales engineer jobs.
| Industry | Share of sales engineer jobs | Median annual wage, May 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant wholesalers, durable goods | 22% | $107,910 |
| Manufacturing | 21% | $103,140 |
| Computer systems design and related services | 18% | $150,080 |
| Software publishers | 6% | $153,410 |
| Wholesale trade agents and brokers | 5% | $130,310 |
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Sales Engineers. National median across all industries: $124,900.
Pay distribution
The bottom tenth earned under $73,870 and the top tenth over $195,270. BLS figures include commissions but exclude nonproduction bonuses, so sales engineers paid an annual company bonus may earn more than the table shows.
Typical for the Sales Engineer title: $92,890 to $161,230 (25th to 75th percentile of Sales Engineers)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $73,870 | $78,500 |
| 25th percentile | $92,890 | $98,500 |
| Median | $124,900 | $133,000 |
| 75th percentile | $161,230 | $171,500 |
| 90th percentile | $195,270 | $207,500 |
Outlook
About 51,600 people work as sales engineers, and BLS projects average growth from 2025 to 2035. BLS expects the strongest demand for those selling computer software and hardware, and notes that businesses' growing use of AI tools may limit employment growth.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Sales Engineers as a whole.
Local pay
Those three metros post medians between $151,610 and $153,560. Denver and Austin stand out for concentration rather than pay, employing sales engineers at roughly three to four times the national rate. Many metro markets here have fewer than 1,000 sales engineers, so their medians can move noticeably from one year to the next.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $153,560 +23% | $98,010 – $175,990 | 520 |
| Washington, DC | $153,410 +23% | $102,490 – $188,620 | 1,010 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | $151,610 +21% | $86,660 – $216,540 | 930 |
| New York City | $147,570 +18% | $90,260 – $218,680 | 3,440 |
| Denver | $139,990 +12% | $83,420 – $202,570 | 2,010 |
| Austin | $137,960 +10% | $78,550 – $216,770 | 1,230 |
| Boston | $136,620 +9% | $78,750 – $187,740 | 2,410 |
| Phoenix | $135,050 +8% | $73,310 – $232,080 | 850 |
| Los Angeles | $133,380 +7% | $71,140 – $174,510 | 1,770 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $133,280 +7% | $81,230 – $191,170 | 2,690 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | $129,850 +4% | $81,210 – $218,670 | 490 |
| Raleigh | $129,520 +4% | $79,570 – $259,510 | 570 |
| Miami | $128,670 +3% | $82,840 – $195,780 | 510 |
| Houston | $127,800 +2% | $79,280 – $203,590 | 1,340 |
| Hartford | $125,530 +1% | $74,830 – $216,060 | 300 |
| Tampa | $123,350 -1% | $68,650 – $236,270 | 450 |
| Detroit | $122,990 -2% | $80,710 – $194,980 | 1,250 |
| Baltimore | $122,690 -2% | $92,000 – $193,400 | 120 |
| San Diego | $122,610 -2% | $76,350 – $186,590 | 360 |
| Nashville | $121,980 -2% | $86,440 – $180,790 | 210 |
| Charlotte | $110,610 -11% | $68,690 – $179,600 | 800 |
| Providence | $104,850 -16% | $58,020 – $180,490 | 130 |
| Chicago | $104,070 -17% | $80,300 – $161,330 | 790 |
| Albany | $103,040 -18% | $72,750 – $171,460 | 130 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $102,790 -18% | $61,860 – $141,800 | 750 |
| Philadelphia | $102,340 -18% | $61,900 – $168,280 | 670 |
| Atlanta | $99,230 -21% | $74,680 – $163,060 | 1,250 |
| Buffalo | $98,720 -21% | $70,510 – $155,820 | 170 |
| Pittsburgh | $97,430 -22% | $62,960 – $160,800 | 370 |
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.
Before you accept or post an offer
Ask for the base and the on-target total separately. Two offers with the same total can carry very different risk.
Sales engineers often support several account executives. A pooled or team quota pays out differently from individual deal credit.
Ask what happens above 100% of quota, and whether the plan has changed in the last year.
For a software role, the software publisher median ($153,410) is a better reference than the all-industry $124,900. For industrial equipment, use the manufacturing or wholesale figures.
Compare
At the median, sales engineers out-earn technical sales representatives by about $19,980 and trail sales managers by about $23,370.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Engineer | $124,900 | $133,000 | Average |
| Territory Manager | $104,920 | $111,500 | Slower than average |
| Sales Manager | $148,270 | $157,500 | Faster than average |
| Solutions Architect | $116,580 | $124,000 | Faster than average |
| Account Executive | $69,990 | $74,500 | Average |
FAQ
Sales engineers' BLS median stood at $124,900 in May 2025. The middle half earned between $92,890 and $161,230, and the top tenth more than $195,270. With two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year, the 2027 planning median is about $133,000. The figures include commissions but not nonproduction bonuses.
Software pays sales engineers far more than manufacturing does. BLS reports a May 2025 median of $153,410 for sales engineers at software publishers and $150,080 in computer systems design, against $103,140 in manufacturing and $107,910 at durable-goods wholesalers. Software and hardware are also where BLS expects employment growth to be strongest.
There is no official starting figure for sales engineers. The 10th percentile, $73,870, and the 25th, $92,890, are a guide for early-career offers. BLS notes that college students may be able to do co-op programs or internships, and that some employers prefer candidates with experience in sales or a related technical field.
Usually, yes: an engineering bachelor's is the norm. BLS says sales engineers typically need a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field, and that candidates without a degree sometimes qualify if they have sales experience. O*NET places the job in Job Zone Four, where most occupations require a four-year degree.
The work overlaps heavily: technical presentations, proposals and RFP responses, and configuring products to customer requirements are all core sales engineer tasks in O*NET. Software companies often use solutions engineer or presales engineer for the same job. BLS has a single occupation for this work, Sales Engineers, and this page uses its figures.
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