Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of sales associate salary by state for the United States:
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New York has the highest sales associate salary of $40,312
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Mississippi has the lowest sales associate salary of $26,999
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The national average salary for sales associates is $32,167
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The national hourly pay for sales associates is $15.46
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do sales associates get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for sales associate by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for sales associates after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for sales associate salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Sales Associates By State
| Rank | State | Average Sales Associate Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $40,312 | $27,000 | $58,000 |
| 2 | North Dakota | $36,248 | $26,000 | $49,000 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $35,628 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 4 | Washington | $35,415 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 5 | California | $35,346 | $23,000 | $53,000 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $35,076 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 7 | Vermont | $33,795 | $25,000 | $45,000 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $33,720 | $23,000 | $48,000 |
| 9 | Oregon | $33,407 | $23,000 | $48,000 |
| 10 | New Jersey | $33,070 | $22,000 | $48,000 |
| 11 | Alaska | $33,019 | $24,000 | $44,000 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $32,862 | $23,000 | $46,000 |
| 13 | Maine | $32,656 | $24,000 | $43,000 |
| 14 | Nebraska | $32,395 | $22,000 | $46,000 |
| 15 | New Hampshire | $32,260 | $23,000 | $43,000 |
| 16 | Michigan | $32,120 | $22,000 | $46,000 |
| 17 | Maryland | $32,023 | $21,000 | $47,000 |
| 18 | Illinois | $32,001 | $22,000 | $46,000 |
| 19 | Wyoming | $31,824 | $22,000 | $45,000 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | $31,729 | $22,000 | $45,000 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $31,673 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 22 | Delaware | $31,520 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 23 | South Dakota | $31,506 | $22,000 | $44,000 |
| 24 | Hawaii | $31,389 | $23,000 | $42,000 |
| 25 | Virginia | $31,378 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 26 | Colorado | $31,003 | $21,000 | $44,000 |
| 27 | Arizona | $30,902 | $20,000 | $46,000 |
| 28 | Indiana | $30,557 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 29 | Ohio | $30,523 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 30 | Iowa | $30,484 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 31 | Montana | $30,404 | $21,000 | $42,000 |
| 32 | Kansas | $30,296 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 33 | Missouri | $29,928 | $20,000 | $43,000 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $29,881 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $29,810 | $20,000 | $43,000 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $29,657 | $19,000 | $44,000 |
| 37 | Texas | $29,192 | $19,000 | $43,000 |
| 38 | Idaho | $29,103 | $20,000 | $41,000 |
| 39 | Nevada | $28,787 | $19,000 | $42,000 |
| 40 | Utah | $28,693 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $28,511 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 42 | Florida | $28,461 | $18,000 | $42,000 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $28,428 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 44 | North Carolina | $28,377 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 45 | Arkansas | $28,043 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 46 | Alabama | $27,939 | $18,000 | $41,000 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $27,680 | $18,000 | $41,000 |
| 48 | Georgia | $27,586 | $18,000 | $40,000 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $27,409 | $18,000 | $40,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $26,999 | $18,000 | $40,000 |
Methodology: Sales Associate Salary By State
To better understand sales associate pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for sales associates by state.
We took the average annual salary data for sales associates from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for sales associates.
Sales Associate Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for sales associates?
The highest-paid state for sales associates is New York with an average salary of $40,312 per year.
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What city pays sales associates the most?
New York, NY pays sales associates the most with an average salary of $40,393 per year.
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What is the worst state for sales associates?
The worst state for sales associates is Mississippi with an average salary of $26,999 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
