Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

41-2031 Retail Salespersons

Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers. Excludes "Cashiers" (41-2011).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
4,270,550 0.3 % $12.08 $25,130 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.00 $8.72 $10.10 $13.36 $18.51
Annual Wage (2) $16,640 $18,130 $21,010 $27,780 $38,510


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Clothing Stores 771,520 69.35 $10.35 $21,530
Department Stores 499,550 32.38 $10.67 $22,190
Building Material and Supplies Dealers 387,600 37.86 $13.45 $27,980
Other General Merchandise Stores 356,290 23.23 $10.27 $21,360
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores 285,220 58.62 $10.53 $21,890

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Shoe Stores 136,270 73.22 $10.32 $21,460
Clothing Stores 771,520 69.35 $10.35 $21,530
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores 89,640 66.26 $13.07 $27,190
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores 285,220 58.62 $10.53 $21,890
Home Furnishings Stores 109,430 48.33 $13.36 $27,790

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other Information Services 200 0.13 $24.67 $51,300
Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing 40 0.09 $23.91 $49,740
Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers 370 0.32 $20.37 $42,380
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing 40 0.01 $20.28 $42,170
Automobile Dealers 233,480 22.39 $20.27 $42,150


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 434,300 30.94 0.93 $12.51 $26,020
Texas 365,260 35.45 1.06 $11.62 $24,170
Florida 292,220 40.86 1.23 $11.86 $24,670
New York 280,660 33.30 1.00 $13.00 $27,030
Pennsylvania 189,880 34.22 1.03 $12.55 $26,110




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Florida 292,220 40.86 1.23 $11.86 $24,670
Georgia 147,910 39.14 1.18 $11.06 $23,000
Hawaii 22,530 39.04 1.17 $12.99 $27,010
Delaware 15,540 38.52 1.16 $11.50 $23,920
New Hampshire 23,350 38.49 1.16 $12.33 $25,650




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 6,200 9.62 0.29 $13.79 $28,680
Washington 95,120 34.96 1.05 $13.53 $28,150
North Dakota 11,920 32.08 0.96 $13.38 $27,840
Colorado 75,110 34.47 1.04 $13.14 $27,330
New Jersey 117,720 31.21 0.94 $13.01 $27,060





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 162,110 32.03 0.96 $13.33 $27,720
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 116,470 30.47 0.92 $12.42 $25,820
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 111,260 31.06 0.93 $12.39 $25,770
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 86,400 38.78 1.16 $11.33 $23,570
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 85,930 33.68 1.01 $11.33 $23,570
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 69,600 34.04 1.02 $12.80 $26,630
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 63,010 27.27 0.82 $12.47 $25,930
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 60,430 35.57 1.07 $12.05 $25,070
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 59,820 32.96 0.99 $13.10 $27,250
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 54,290 31.72 0.95 $11.40 $23,710




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC 7,110 64.82 1.95 $10.15 $21,100
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 2,760 61.59 1.85 $11.78 $24,510
Peabody, MA NECTA Division 6,000 60.22 1.81 $13.37 $27,810
Rapid City, SD 3,470 59.21 1.78 $11.48 $23,890
Barnstable Town, MA 5,420 57.80 1.74 $12.77 $26,550
Punta Gorda, FL 2,220 56.75 1.70 $12.17 $25,320
Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI 4,520 55.83 1.68 $11.27 $23,440
Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, MA-NH NECTA Division 3,300 55.53 1.67 $11.52 $23,960
Valdosta, GA 2,630 54.30 1.63 $10.39 $21,610
Hot Springs, AR 1,860 53.47 1.61 $10.66 $22,170




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division 2,450 21.53 0.65 $14.87 $30,920
Carson City, NV 630 23.46 0.70 $14.41 $29,970
Wausau, WI 1,880 29.09 0.87 $14.31 $29,770
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 46,490 33.95 1.02 $14.24 $29,620
Midland, TX 2,240 32.21 0.97 $14.14 $29,410
Iowa City, IA 3,140 37.52 1.13 $14.06 $29,240
Cedar Rapids, IA 4,140 30.19 0.91 $13.96 $29,030
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 3,120 39.60 1.19 $13.93 $28,970
Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 47,340 39.16 1.18 $13.87 $28,840
Trenton-Ewing, NJ 5,780 26.73 0.80 $13.85 $28,800

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 8,850 23.25 0.70 $10.64 $22,140
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 8,560 31.06 0.93 $11.65 $24,230
Eastern Texas nonmetropolitan area 8,540 30.83 0.93 $11.15 $23,180
East Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area 7,390 31.58 0.95 $12.33 $25,650
Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area 7,020 26.40 0.79 $11.57 $24,060

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 940 75.43 2.27 $11.15 $23,200
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 820 59.30 1.78 $16.15 $33,590
Sussex County, Delaware nonmetropolitan area 3,820 54.88 1.65 $11.85 $24,640
Coastal Oregon nonmetropolitan area 3,490 51.16 1.54 $11.39 $23,700
Northeast Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 3,640 50.35 1.51 $12.31 $25,600

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 820 59.30 1.78 $16.15 $33,590
Los Alamos County, New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 70 4.56 0.14 $15.24 $31,710
North Central Colorado nonmetropolitan area 3,290 45.78 1.38 $14.92 $31,040
West Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 1,580 28.52 0.86 $14.73 $30,640
Far Western North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 810 17.29 0.52 $14.44 $30,040


About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012