Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of sales person salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest sales person salary of $71,243
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Alaska has the lowest sales person salary of $31,420
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The national average salary for sales people is $42,010
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The national hourly pay for sales people is $20.2
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 people 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 person 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 people after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for sales person salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Sales People By State
| Rank | State | Average Sales Person Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $71,243 | $34,000 | $148,000 |
| 2 | New York | $70,328 | $30,000 | $163,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $68,760 | $29,000 | $161,000 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $62,714 | $25,000 | $151,000 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $57,665 | $23,000 | $140,000 |
| 6 | Utah | $55,718 | $27,000 | $113,000 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $55,298 | $22,000 | $137,000 |
| 8 | Oregon | $54,897 | $32,000 | $91,000 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $51,212 | $20,000 | $128,000 |
| 10 | Nevada | $50,352 | $23,000 | $109,000 |
| 11 | Vermont | $50,004 | $20,000 | $123,000 |
| 12 | Hawaii | $49,538 | $41,000 | $59,000 |
| 13 | Idaho | $48,912 | $28,000 | $84,000 |
| 14 | Delaware | $48,505 | $18,000 | $125,000 |
| 15 | Maine | $48,325 | $19,000 | $121,000 |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | $47,157 | $18,000 | $122,000 |
| 17 | Colorado | $46,202 | $21,000 | $97,000 |
| 18 | Arizona | $45,619 | $20,000 | $103,000 |
| 19 | Illinois | $44,514 | $18,000 | $105,000 |
| 20 | Maryland | $43,026 | $16,000 | $114,000 |
| 21 | Washington | $42,582 | $31,000 | $57,000 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $42,568 | $18,000 | $97,000 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $40,646 | $17,000 | $94,000 |
| 24 | Texas | $40,602 | $16,000 | $98,000 |
| 25 | Virginia | $40,396 | $15,000 | $108,000 |
| 26 | Minnesota | $39,927 | $20,000 | $79,000 |
| 27 | Missouri | $39,196 | $17,000 | $89,000 |
| 28 | Kansas | $38,906 | $17,000 | $87,000 |
| 29 | Florida | $38,642 | $14,000 | $99,000 |
| 30 | Oklahoma | $38,619 | $16,000 | $91,000 |
| 31 | Michigan | $38,541 | $14,000 | $99,000 |
| 32 | Louisiana | $37,948 | $15,000 | $94,000 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $37,652 | $15,000 | $91,000 |
| 34 | Arkansas | $37,475 | $15,000 | $89,000 |
| 35 | Nebraska | $37,464 | $17,000 | $79,000 |
| 36 | Mississippi | $36,980 | $14,000 | $91,000 |
| 37 | Alabama | $36,932 | $14,000 | $92,000 |
| 38 | South Carolina | $36,863 | $14,000 | $93,000 |
| 39 | North Carolina | $36,853 | $14,000 | $95,000 |
| 40 | Ohio | $36,835 | $14,000 | $95,000 |
| 41 | Georgia | $36,387 | $14,000 | $91,000 |
| 42 | Indiana | $35,363 | $14,000 | $87,000 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $35,323 | $14,000 | $87,000 |
| 44 | West Virginia | $34,736 | $13,000 | $92,000 |
| 45 | Wyoming | $34,335 | $18,000 | $63,000 |
| 46 | Iowa | $33,805 | $15,000 | $74,000 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $33,691 | $18,000 | $62,000 |
| 48 | North Dakota | $32,094 | $21,000 | $47,000 |
| 49 | Montana | $32,026 | $23,000 | $43,000 |
| 50 | Alaska | $31,420 | $28,000 | $34,000 |
Methodology: Sales Person Salary By State
To better understand sales person 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 people by state.
We took the average annual salary data for sales people from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for sales people.
Sales Person Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for sales people?
The highest-paid state for sales people is California with an average salary of $71,243 per year.
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What city pays sales people the most?
Oceanside, NY pays sales people the most with an average salary of $74,483 per year.
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What is the worst state for sales people?
The worst state for sales people is Alaska with an average salary of $31,420 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.
