Sales & related occupations

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2019 Workforce

14.6M

Average Age

39.9

Average Salary

$50,617

Average Male Salary

$66,816

Average Female Salary

$35,016

About

Sales & related occupations are most often employed by the General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters industry. The average yearly wage for Sales & related occupations was $50,617 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Sales & related occupations by wage are Installation, maintenance, & repair occupations, Military specific occupations, and Construction & Extraction Occupations.

Sales & related occupations are part of the Sales & Office Occupations, along with Sales & related occupations and Office & Administrative Support Occupations.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Sales & related occupations are Forsyth County PUMA, GA, Walton, Washington, Holmes & Bay Counties PUMA, FL, and Benton County PUMA, AR. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Sales & related occupations are Collier County (Northwest) PUMA, FL, St. Lucie County (North) PUMA, FL, and San Juan Municipio (Sur) PUMA, PR.

Photo by Drew Leavy

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Sales & related occupations and on wages and locations for those in the field. General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters is the industry that employs the most Sales & related occupations, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Sales & related occupations, by average wage, is Computer & peripheral equipment manufacturing. Sales & related occupations are paid most in Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Collier County (Northwest) PUMA, FL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$50,617

AVERAGE SALARY

± $456

In 2019, Sales & related occupations earned an average of $50,617, $4,907 less than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Installation, maintenance, & repair occupations make somewhat more than Sales & related occupations while Military specific occupations make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Sales & related occupations as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.556

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Sales & related occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.556, which is higher than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly for Sales & related occupations (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Sales & related occupations.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Sales & related occupations

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Sales & related occupations.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Sales & related occupations, by number of employees, are General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters, Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores, Restaurants & Food Services, Clothing stores, Lessors of real estate, and offices of real estate agents and brokers, Building material & supplies dealers, Car Dealers, Insurance carriers, Gasoline stations, Not specified retail trade, and Department stores.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Sales & related occupations, by average wage, are Computer & peripheral equipment manufacturing, Petroleum refining, and Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments.

Industries by Share

14.6M

2019 Workforce

± 89,219

−1.78%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 0.874%

The number of people employed as Sales & related occupations has been declining at a rate of −1.78%, from 14,877,836 people in 2018 to 14,613,457 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Sales & related occupations employed by various industries. General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters employs the largest share of Sales & related occupations at 7.66%, followed by Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores with 7.63% and Restaurants & Food Services with 6.24%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Sales & related occupations in the US. The average age of male Sales & related occupations in the workforce is 41.2 and of female Sales & related occupations is 38.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Sales & related occupations is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

7.17M

MALE WORKFORCE

± 64,165

7.44M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 65,322

50.9% of Sales & related occupations are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Sales & related occupations.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Sales & related occupations

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

63.7% of Sales & related occupations are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.4% of Sales & related occupations, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Sales & related occupations.

Age by Sex

41.2

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.142

38.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.145

The median age of Sales & related occupations is 39.9, and Male employees are generally 2.46 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Sales & related occupations from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Sales & related occupations is Business but a relatively high number of Sales & related occupations hold a major in Personal & Culinary Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Sales & related occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sales & related occupations need many skills, but most especially Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Sales & related occupations need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Negotiation, and Persuasion.