How much does a sales associate make?

The average sales associate salary in the United States is $32,167. Sales associate salaries typically range between $21,000 and $47,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for sales associates is $15.46 per hour. Sales associate salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Sales associates earn the highest average salary in New York.

Sales associate salary

Q: What state pays Sales Associates the most?

New York pays Sales Associates the most in the United States, with an average salary of $40,312 per year, or $19.38 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a sales associate?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a sales associate if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in District of Columbia you should be paid close to $39,074 per year.

Q: Do sales associates get paid well?

No, sales associates do not get paid well. The average hourly pay for a sales associate is $11.19. In fact, over 28% of sales associates in the United States think their salaries are enough for the cost of living in their area.

Q: How much do sales associates usually make?

A sales associate usually makes an average annual salary of $32,373, which breaks down to $15.56 an hour. However, what a sales associate can earn varies greatly -- anywhere from upwards of $16,000 to $63,000 a year. This means that the top-earning sales associates make $47,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

Q: What is a good base salary for a sales job?

The average base salary for a sales job is $38,375 a year. However, there are many fluctuations in annual earning among sales associates, with salaries as high as $58,500 and low as $20,000.

Q: What is a good starting salary for retail?

A good starting salary for a retail sales associate is $15 per hour. A seasonal sales associate can expect to make around $14.38 per hour. Best Buy starts sales associates at $16.00 an hour, which is higher than the national average ($31,200 per year). Nordstrom's sales associates earn $15 per hour ($31,200 per year).

Average sales associate salary

$15.46

$32,167 yearly

Entry-level sales associate salary

$21,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Sales Associate Salaries

The role of a Sales Associate is vital in the retail environment, acting as the bridge between the customer and the product. The average salary for a Sales Associate in the U.S. stands at about $32,167 annually or $15 per hour. However, this figure can vary significantly based on several factors.

Factors Influencing Salary

Experience: Entry-level positions may start around $28,000, while those with several years in the field can earn significantly more.
Location: Salaries differ by state; for instance, Sales Associates in states like California and New York often earn more than those in other regions.
Industry: Specific sectors, such as technology or luxury goods, may offer higher salaries compared to traditional retail.

Additionally, as with many jobs, benefits and commission structures can further enhance overall compensation. Understanding these variations not only helps job seekers assess their worth but also informs better career decisions. For those looking to maximize their earnings, exploring opportunities in higher-paying states or industries could be beneficial.

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Sales associate salary by:

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Where can a Sales Associate earn more?

Compare salary by location

60k

40k

20k

294

Columbus, OH$40,393

Columbus, OH$30,294

Compare salary by company

107k

87k

67k

47k

27k

Barclays$88,251

Apple$57,151

Sales associate salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor and Comparably, the average salary for a sales associate typically falls between $30,824 and $105,927.

zippia

$32,167yearly

glassdoor[1]

$70,111yearly

indeed[2]

$30,824yearly

comparably[3]

$64,507yearly

Salary.com[4]

$105,927yearly

Average sales associate salary by state

The highest-paying states for sales associates are New York, North Dakota, and Rhode Island. The lowest average sales associate salary states are Arkansas, Alabama, and Louisiana.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for sales associates

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	New York	$40,312	$19.38
2	North Dakota	$36,248	$17.43
3	Michigan	$32,120	$15.44
4	Rhode Island	$35,628	$17.13
5	Maine	$32,656	$15.70
6	Pennsylvania	$31,673	$15.23
7	Connecticut	$33,720	$16.21
8	New Hampshire	$32,260	$15.51
9	Vermont	$33,795	$16.25
10	Wisconsin	$31,729	$15.25
11	Massachusetts	$35,076	$16.86
12	Tennessee	$29,881	$14.37
13	Washington	$35,415	$17.03
14	West Virginia	$29,810	$14.33
15	New Jersey	$33,070	$15.90
16	Illinois	$32,001	$15.39
17	Ohio	$30,523	$14.67
18	Minnesota	$32,862	$15.80
19	District of Columbia	$39,074	$18.79
20	Oregon	$33,407	$16.06
21	Nebraska	$32,395	$15.57
22	Indiana	$30,557	$14.69
23	California	$35,346	$16.99
24	South Dakota	$31,506	$15.15
25	Wyoming	$31,824	$15.30
26	Delaware	$31,520	$15.15
27	Arizona	$30,902	$14.86
28	Alaska	$33,019	$15.87
29	Iowa	$30,484	$14.66
30	Virginia	$31,378	$15.09
31	Maryland	$32,023	$15.40
32	Kansas	$30,296	$14.57
33	Kentucky	$28,511	$13.71
34	Missouri	$29,928	$14.39
35	Texas	$29,192	$14.03
36	South Carolina	$28,428	$13.67
37	Colorado	$31,003	$14.91
38	New Mexico	$29,657	$14.26
39	Arkansas	$28,043	$13.48
40	North Carolina	$28,377	$13.64
41	Montana	$30,404	$14.62
42	Hawaii	$31,389	$15.09
43	Alabama	$27,939	$13.43
44	Florida	$28,461	$13.68
45	Louisiana	$27,680	$13.31
46	Utah	$28,693	$13.79
47	Mississippi	$26,999	$12.98
48	Idaho	$29,103	$13.99
49	Nevada	$28,787	$13.84
50	Oklahoma	$27,409	$13.18
51	Georgia	$27,586	$13.26

Top sales associate jobs near you

Highest paying cities for sales associates

The highest-paying cities for sales associates are New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Seattle, WA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	New York, NY	$40,393	$19.42
2	San Francisco, CA	$35,883	$17.25
3	Seattle, WA	$35,618	$17.12
4	Boston, MA	$35,077	$16.86
5	Portland, OR	$33,337	$16.03
6	Paramus, NJ	$33,067	$15.90
7	Portland, ME	$32,787	$15.76
8	Omaha, NE	$32,652	$15.70
9	Austin, MN	$32,401	$15.58
10	Chicago, IL	$32,208	$15.48
11	Baltimore, MD	$32,110	$15.44
12	Philadelphia, PA	$31,732	$15.26
13	Madison, WI	$31,558	$15.17
14	Richmond, VA	$31,406	$15.10
15	Tucson, AZ	$31,047	$14.93
16	Aurora, CO	$31,022	$14.91
17	Richmond, IN	$30,733	$14.78
18	Kansas City, KS	$30,501	$14.66
19	Knoxville, TN	$30,414	$14.62
20	Columbus, OH	$30,294	$14.56

Sales Associates are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Sales associate salary details

A sales associate's salary ranges from $21,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $47,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average sales associate salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a sales associate's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$47,000	$3,917	$23
75th Percentile	$39,000	$3,250	$19
Average	$32,167	$2,681	$15
25th Percentile	$26,000	$2,167	$13
10th Percentile	$21,000	$1,750	$10

Top companies hiring sales associates now:

Which companies pay sales associates the most?

Sales associate salaries at Barclays and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average sales associate salary at companies like Google and Goldman Sachs are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Barclays	$88,251	$42.43
2	Meta	$87,479	$42.06
3	Google	$75,198	$36.15
4	Goldman Sachs	$73,353	$35.27
5	Pandora	$70,828	$34.05
6	Bloomberg	$68,195	$32.79
7	Northern Trust	$64,881	$31.19
8	MicroStrategy	$64,743	$31.13
9	BlackRock	$63,787	$30.67
10	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$62,045	$29.83
11	Atos	$61,387	$29.51
12	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$60,747	$29.21
13	Persistent Systems	$60,344	$29.01
14	Milliman	$60,199	$28.94
15	Merrill Lynch	$59,853	$28.78
16	Morgan Stanley	$59,730	$28.72
17	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$58,260	$28.01
18	Prudential Financial	$57,693	$27.74
19	Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama	$57,356	$27.57
20	Apple	$57,151	$27.48

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$34,000$33,400$32,800$32,200$31,600$31,000

MaleFemale

Sales associate salary trends

The average sales associate salary has risen by $7,210 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average sales associate earned $24,957 annually, but today, they earn $32,167 a year. That works out to a 19% change in pay for sales associates over the last decade.

Compare sales associate salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average sales associate salary over time

Compare sales associate salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Sales associate salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$32,200	$15.47	+6.8%
2024	$30,000	$14.42	+4.2%
2023	$28,700	$13.82	+4.1%
2022	$27,600	$13.25	+2.3%
2021	$26,900	$12.95	+4.0%

Recently added sales associate salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Costar Group	Sales Associate, Apartments.com	Seattle, WA	06/30/2025	$65,000
Crossamerica Partners LP	Overnight Sales Associate	Scottsville, NY	06/30/2025	$32,557
Crossamerica Partners LP	Retail Sales Associate	Eau Claire, WI	06/30/2025	$29,218
Crossamerica Partners LP	Retail Sales Associate	Philadelphia, PA	06/30/2025	$31,305
Donaldson Company	Aftermarket Sales Associate	Bloomington, MN	06/30/2025	$54,600
Five Below, Inc.	Sales Associate	Manchester, NH	06/30/2025	$31,305
Five Below	Retail Sales Associate	Wichita, KS	06/30/2025	$22,957
Five Below, Inc.	Sales Associate	Warwick, RI	06/30/2025	$31,305
Cost Plus World Market	Sales Associate	Woodland Park, NJ	06/30/2025	$32,328
Cost Plus World Market	Sales Associate	Seattle, WA	06/30/2025	$43,326