2027 Salary Guide · Sales & Customer Success
In BLS data, a sales representative usually means someone selling a wholesaler's or manufacturer's goods, such as food, office supplies and clothing, to business buyers. That occupation had a median of $72,080 in May 2025, about $76,500 in 2027 terms, with a long top end: the top tenth earned more than $137,550. The biggest single step up is moving to technical products, where the median is $104,920.
Reading a comp plan
BLS reports what reps earned, not how the money was structured. Two offers with the same headline number can pay very differently.
BLS says most employers pay these reps a salary plus commission or a salary plus bonus. Get both numbers in writing.
Commission is usually a percentage of sales. Ask whether it is paid on revenue or gross margin, and when: at order, at shipment or when the customer pays.
A draw advances commission while you ramp up. Ask whether it is recoverable, meaning it is repaid from later commissions.
BLS notes that reps with large territories can spend days or weeks away from home. Ask about travel, car allowance and expense policy.
Taking over active accounts produces commission sooner than building a new territory from scratch.
A plan only matters if people hit it. Ask what share of the team reached quota and what they took home.
Pay distribution
The middle half earned $50,470 to $99,640. BLS counts commissions as wages, which helps explain why the upper percentiles stretch so far above the median. Overtime and nonproduction bonuses are not included.
Typical for the Sales Representative title: $50,470 to $99,640 (25th to 75th percentile of Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $39,090 | $41,500 |
| 25th percentile | $50,470 | $53,500 |
| Median | $72,080 | $76,500 |
| 75th percentile | $99,640 | $106,000 |
| 90th percentile | $137,550 | $146,000 |
By industry
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook figures for sales representatives of non-technical products, May 2025.
| Industry | Share of jobs | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant wholesalers, durable goods | 33% | $67,780 |
| Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods | 21% | $66,940 |
| Manufacturing | 18% | $77,280 |
| Wholesale trade agents and brokers | 9% | $76,750 |
| Retail trade | 6% | $58,120 |
Selling for a manufacturer paid about $9,500 more at the median than selling for a durable-goods wholesaler. All industries: $72,080.
Local pay
The San Francisco Bay Area median was $93,100, about $21,020 above the national figure, followed by Seattle ($82,260), New York ($81,140) and Denver ($81,060). Florida metros were lowest: Tampa ($62,000) and Miami ($62,400). Chicago, with about 38,490 reps, is the largest market outside New York and Los Angeles.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $93,100 +29% | $49,580 – $177,370 | 13,190 |
| Seattle | $82,260 +14% | $53,460 – $149,000 | 16,510 |
| New York City | $81,140 +13% | $48,160 – $161,940 | 61,860 |
| Denver | $81,060 +12% | $49,000 – $154,620 | 17,660 |
| Boston | $79,670 +11% | $46,810 – $157,530 | 14,010 |
| Providence | $78,480 +9% | $45,050 – $161,990 | 6,400 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $78,470 +9% | $48,140 – $139,140 | 21,560 |
| Hartford | $78,000 +8% | $47,140 – $128,440 | 3,240 |
| Portland | $77,900 +8% | $45,980 – $131,560 | 10,670 |
| Detroit | $77,870 +8% | $44,670 – $143,150 | 17,190 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | $76,580 +6% | $44,990 – $150,010 | 19,060 |
| San Diego | $76,100 +6% | $43,320 – $152,110 | 9,040 |
| Chicago | $75,350 +5% | $46,240 – $137,000 | 38,490 |
| Buffalo | $75,030 +4% | $45,050 – $134,070 | 3,680 |
| Phoenix | $74,790 +4% | $39,760 – $145,860 | 14,870 |
| Washington, DC | $74,730 +4% | $43,640 – $157,050 | 7,740 |
| Los Angeles | $74,490 +3% | $39,520 – $135,830 | 54,950 |
| Austin | $74,310 +3% | $38,600 – $140,910 | 5,970 |
| Baltimore | $73,080 +1% | $45,100 – $131,410 | 3,970 |
| Houston | $73,030 +1% | $37,090 – $137,970 | 25,630 |
| Charlotte | $72,500 +1% | $40,000 – $149,460 | 15,910 |
| Raleigh | $72,220 +0% | $40,270 – $154,980 | 7,550 |
| Albany | $70,360 -2% | $46,150 – $131,890 | 2,850 |
| Atlanta | $64,990 -10% | $37,310 – $138,230 | 27,650 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $64,940 -10% | $37,200 – $138,470 | 29,100 |
| Nashville | $63,800 -11% | $37,080 – $134,450 | 7,890 |
| Pittsburgh | $63,270 -12% | $37,900 – $127,340 | 8,760 |
| Miami | $62,400 -13% | $36,500 – $128,720 | 30,740 |
| Tampa | $62,000 -14% | $36,740 – $123,770 | 13,460 |
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.
Which sales rep?
BLS splits wholesale and manufacturing sales reps into two occupations. This page uses the larger one, reps selling non-technical products, for which BLS says a high school diploma is generally enough. Reps selling technical or scientific products, such as medical instruments, industrial equipment or pharmaceuticals, typically need a bachelor's degree, and their median was $104,920 in May 2025.
Job titles do not follow the split. Outside sales representative, route sales representative and account representative all appear among O*NET's reported titles for the non-technical occupation. If the job requires explaining how a product works at an engineering or clinical level, the technical figures on the territory manager page are the better benchmark.
Services sales is a third occupation again. A rep selling software subscriptions or business services is counted with services sales representatives, whose median was $69,990.
Compare
Reps selling technical and scientific products earn a median $32,840 higher. Services sales reps, the occupation that includes many account executives, earn about $2,090 less.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Representative | $72,080 | $76,500 | Decline |
| Territory Manager | $104,920 | $111,500 | Slower than average |
| Account Executive | $69,990 | $74,500 | Average |
| Sales Manager | $148,270 | $157,500 | Faster than average |
| Sales Engineer | $124,900 | $133,000 | Average |
Outlook
BLS projects a decline in employment for this occupation from 2025 to 2035. With about 1,279,400 jobs, turnover still creates about 99,800 openings a year, mostly from reps retiring or moving to other work.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products as a whole.
FAQ
For wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives outside technical products, the BLS median was $72,080 in May 2025, or $34.65 an hour. The middle half earned $50,470 to $99,640. Two years of 3.1% wage growth puts the 2027 planning median at about $76,500.
BLS does not split base pay from commission, but its wage figures include commissions, and BLS says most employers pay a salary plus commission or a salary plus bonus. The upper percentiles show where strong commission years land: the 75th percentile was $99,640 and the 90th $137,550 in May 2025.
First-year sales rep pay is not published by BLS. The 10th percentile, $39,090, and the 25th, $50,470, are a reasonable range for first-year reps, especially on plans where commission builds as the territory develops. For non-technical products, BLS says a high school diploma is generally enough to start.
BLS counts inside and outside wholesale and manufacturing reps in the same occupation, so it has no separate figures. Outside roles usually carry travel, a larger territory and more face-to-face selling, and pay plans often reflect that, but the BLS median of $72,080 covers both.
One of the biggest differences in the BLS data is product type. Reps selling technical and scientific products had a median of $104,920 in May 2025, about $32,840 more than non-technical reps. Among non-technical reps, those working for manufacturers ($77,280) out-earned those at durable-goods wholesalers ($67,780).
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