Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of store associate salary by state for the United States:
-
New York has the highest store associate salary of $34,497
-
New Mexico has the lowest store associate salary of $23,461
-
The national average salary for store associates is $29,543
-
The national hourly pay for store associates is $14.2
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 store 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 store 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 store associates after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for store associate salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Store Associates By State
| Rank | State | Average Store Associate Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $34,497 | $29,000 | $40,000 |
| 2 | Washington | $33,609 | $27,000 | $41,000 |
| 3 | Vermont | $33,472 | $29,000 | $38,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $33,469 | $28,000 | $38,000 |
| 5 | Maine | $33,231 | $28,000 | $38,000 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $32,196 | $27,000 | $37,000 |
| 7 | California | $32,159 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $32,057 | $26,000 | $38,000 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $31,998 | $27,000 | $37,000 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $31,853 | $26,000 | $37,000 |
| 11 | Oregon | $31,739 | $25,000 | $39,000 |
| 12 | New Hampshire | $31,426 | $27,000 | $36,000 |
| 13 | Illinois | $30,693 | $25,000 | $37,000 |
| 14 | Hawaii | $30,607 | $27,000 | $34,000 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $30,365 | $25,000 | $35,000 |
| 16 | Colorado | $30,318 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 17 | South Dakota | $29,798 | $24,000 | $36,000 |
| 18 | Maryland | $29,460 | $24,000 | $35,000 |
| 19 | Nebraska | $29,249 | $23,000 | $36,000 |
| 20 | Delaware | $29,148 | $24,000 | $34,000 |
| 21 | Arizona | $29,131 | $23,000 | $36,000 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $28,826 | $23,000 | $34,000 |
| 23 | Michigan | $28,716 | $23,000 | $34,000 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $28,700 | $24,000 | $34,000 |
| 25 | Iowa | $28,596 | $23,000 | $35,000 |
| 26 | Indiana | $28,428 | $23,000 | $34,000 |
| 27 | Ohio | $28,315 | $23,000 | $34,000 |
| 28 | Missouri | $27,971 | $22,000 | $34,000 |
| 29 | Kansas | $27,546 | $22,000 | $34,000 |
| 30 | Virginia | $27,168 | $22,000 | $33,000 |
| 31 | Utah | $27,078 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 32 | Florida | $27,051 | $21,000 | $33,000 |
| 33 | Montana | $26,851 | $21,000 | $33,000 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $26,677 | $21,000 | $33,000 |
| 35 | Tennessee | $26,493 | $21,000 | $33,000 |
| 36 | Nevada | $26,371 | $21,000 | $33,000 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $26,360 | $21,000 | $32,000 |
| 38 | Idaho | $26,254 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $26,238 | $21,000 | $32,000 |
| 40 | West Virginia | $26,173 | $21,000 | $32,000 |
| 41 | Texas | $26,170 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $26,095 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $25,801 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 44 | Georgia | $25,605 | $20,000 | $31,000 |
| 45 | Wyoming | $25,308 | $20,000 | $31,000 |
| 46 | Louisiana | $25,266 | $20,000 | $31,000 |
| 47 | Alabama | $25,085 | $20,000 | $31,000 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $25,010 | $20,000 | $31,000 |
| 49 | Alaska | $24,432 | $22,000 | $27,000 |
| 50 | New Mexico | $23,461 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
Methodology: Store Associate Salary By State
To better understand store 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 store associates by state.
We took the average annual salary data for store associates from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for store associates.
Store Associate Salary By State FAQs
-
What is the highest-paid state for store associates?
The highest-paid state for store associates is New York with an average salary of $34,497 per year.
-
What city pays store associates the most?
New York, NY pays store associates the most with an average salary of $34,461 per year.
-
What is the worst state for store associates?
The worst state for store associates is New Mexico with an average salary of $23,461 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.
