How much does a sales specialist make?

The average sales specialist salary in the United States is $53,004. Sales specialist salaries typically range between $30,000 and $91,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for sales specialists is $25.48 per hour. Sales specialist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Sales specialists earn the highest average salary in Massachusetts.

Sales specialist salary

Q: What state pays Sales Specialists the most?

Massachusetts pays Sales Specialists the most in the United States, with an average salary of $76,002 per year, or $36.54 per hour.

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

You know if you are being paid fairly as a sales specialist if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in New York you should be paid close to $70,930 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for a Sales Specialist?

A good starting salary for a sales specialist is $32,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a sales specialist in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for sales specialists is $53,599, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a sales specialist can vary by state.

Q: How much do sales specialists make?

Sales specialists make between $25,000 to $97,000 per year, with an average of $42,000 a year, or $20 an hour. Sales specialists with the right skill set can make above-average income, which can vary dramatically based on industry.

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 sales specialist salary?

A sales specialist's salary ranges between $25,000 and $97,000, with an average of $42,000 a year, or $20 an hour. A sales specialist salary is one of the most variables you will see, and this is because of all the different industries, sales types, locations, and pay structures that exist in sales.

Quoted expert

Ng'ang'a Muchiri

Average sales specialist salary

$53,004

$25.48 hourly rate

Entry-level sales specialist salary

$30,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Sales Specialist Salaries

The average salary for a Sales Specialist in the United States is $53,004 per year. This figure can vary significantly based on several factors: geographic location, years of experience, and specific industry. For instance, Sales Specialists in states like California and New York typically earn higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals in these areas.

Experience level also plays a crucial role in determining salary. Entry-level Sales Specialists may start at lower salary ranges, while those with several years of experience can command significantly higher earnings. Additionally, specialization in certain sales fields, such as technology or pharmaceuticals, can lead to increased compensation.

Salary Estimates by State

In examining salary estimates by state, you’ll find that locations like Washington and Massachusetts offer some of the highest pay for Sales Specialists. Understanding these dynamics can help job seekers make informed decisions about where to apply and negotiate salaries effectively.

Ultimately, enhancing your skills, gaining relevant experience, and choosing the right industry can greatly impact your earning potential as a Sales Specialist.

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Sales specialist salary by:

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Where can a Sales Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location

105k

85k

65k

45k

25k

Columbus, OH$75,688

Madison, AL$55,055

Compare salary by company

171k

151k

131k

111k

91k

VMware$148,810

Medidata$120,920

Sales specialist salaries by experience level

Experience level	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
Entry-level sales specialist	$42,400	$20.38
Mid-level sales specialist	$54,600	$26.26
Senior-level sales specialist	$87,200	$41.95

Sales specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor and Ziprecruiter, the average salary for a sales specialist typically falls between $53,004 and $87,705.

zippia

$53,004yearly

glassdoor[1]

$87,705yearly

indeed[2]

$58,448yearly

ZipRecruiter[3]

$72,000yearly

Average sales specialist salary by state

The average sales specialist salary in Massachusetts, New York, and California are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average sales specialist salary states are Montana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for sales specialists

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	New York	$70,930	$34.10
2	Massachusetts	$76,002	$36.54
3	Rhode Island	$64,610	$31.06
4	Connecticut	$67,818	$32.60
5	Texas	$63,713	$30.63
6	North Carolina	$59,262	$28.49
7	New Jersey	$62,496	$30.05
8	Ohio	$56,825	$27.32
9	New Hampshire	$58,722	$28.23
10	California	$70,212	$33.76
11	Wyoming	$65,681	$31.58
12	Michigan	$57,825	$27.80
13	Washington	$66,526	$31.98
14	Kentucky	$55,120	$26.50
15	Pennsylvania	$54,892	$26.39
16	Missouri	$60,130	$28.91
17	Nevada	$57,530	$27.66
18	Oregon	$57,303	$27.55
19	Maine	$54,390	$26.15
20	Alabama	$55,117	$26.50
21	Georgia	$55,864	$26.86
22	Virginia	$57,909	$27.84
23	Wisconsin	$54,182	$26.05
24	Indiana	$54,587	$26.24
25	Minnesota	$56,879	$27.35
26	Arizona	$55,065	$26.47
27	Kansas	$53,769	$25.85
28	Illinois	$54,730	$26.31
29	Florida	$51,126	$24.58
30	District of Columbia	$62,042	$29.83
31	North Dakota	$53,852	$25.89
32	Tennessee	$48,811	$23.47
33	Colorado	$55,240	$26.56
34	Idaho	$52,350	$25.17
35	Maryland	$52,269	$25.13
36	Vermont	$52,946	$25.45
37	Iowa	$51,817	$24.91
38	Louisiana	$49,337	$23.72
39	West Virginia	$50,146	$24.11
40	South Carolina	$48,198	$23.17
41	Montana	$49,077	$23.59
42	New Mexico	$52,413	$25.20
43	Hawaii	$50,138	$24.10
44	Arkansas	$49,636	$23.86
45	Nebraska	$49,723	$23.91
46	Utah	$46,983	$22.59
47	Delaware	$50,131	$24.10
48	South Dakota	$49,197	$23.65
49	Alaska	$51,956	$24.98
50	Oklahoma	$48,327	$23.23
51	Mississippi	$40,838	$19.63

Top sales specialist jobs near you

Highest paying cities for sales specialists

The highest-paying cities for sales specialists are Boston, MA, San Francisco, CA, and New York, NY.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Boston, MA	$75,688	$36.39
2	San Francisco, CA	$73,309	$35.24
3	New York, NY	$71,050	$34.16
4	Seattle, WA	$66,766	$32.10
5	San Antonio, TX	$64,086	$30.81
6	Washington, DC	$61,963	$29.79
7	Columbia, MO	$60,102	$28.90
8	Raleigh, NC	$59,835	$28.77
9	Detroit, MI	$57,907	$27.84
10	Richmond, VA	$57,799	$27.79
11	Cleveland, OH	$57,743	$27.76
12	Las Vegas, NV	$57,189	$27.49
13	Minneapolis, MN	$56,884	$27.35
14	Portland, OR	$56,609	$27.22
15	Atlanta, GA	$55,845	$26.85
16	Colorado Springs, CO	$55,620	$26.74
17	Portland, ME	$55,329	$26.60
18	Philadelphia, PA	$55,156	$26.52
19	Phoenix, AZ	$55,075	$26.48
20	Madison, AL	$55,055	$26.47

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

Sales specialist salary details

A sales specialist's salary ranges from $30,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $91,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average sales specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a sales specialist's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$91,000	$7,583	$44
75th Percentile	$70,000	$5,833	$34
Average	$53,004	$4,417	$25
25th Percentile	$39,000	$3,250	$19
10th Percentile	$30,000	$2,500	$14

Highest paying sales specialist jobs

The highest paying types of sales specialists are appliance sales specialist, product specialist, and sales operations specialist.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Sales Person	$42,010	$3,501	$20.20	378,132
Sales Professional	$68,809	$5,734	$33.08	347,888

How would you rate the starting salaries for sales specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Ng'ang'a Muchiri

Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Initial salary prospects in the Humanities, in general, and English, in particular, trail those in finance, law, medicine, STEM. But I also think the massive paradigm shifts that emerge from creativity within the Humanities CAN rake in a substantial payday. For instance, Shonda Rhimes signing a 9-figure contract with Netflix. Of course, such windfalls are few and far between.

Top companies hiring sales specialists now:

Which companies pay sales specialists the most?

Sales specialist salaries at VMware and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average sales specialist salary at companies like AstraZeneca and Novo Nordisk are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	VMware	$148,810	$71.54
2	Google	$137,786	$66.24
3	AstraZeneca	$135,847	$65.31
4	Novo Nordisk	$131,369	$63.16
5	Microsoft	$129,932	$62.47
6	Palo Alto Networks	$129,883	$62.44
7	Nuance Communications	$129,454	$62.24
8	Bloomberg	$125,763	$60.46
9	Citi	$125,333	$60.26
10	Western Digital	$125,265	$60.22
11	Capgemini	$125,193	$60.19
12	Pluralsight	$124,550	$59.88
13	Epicor	$124,547	$59.88
14	Morgan Stanley	$124,267	$59.74
15	Merck	$124,123	$59.67
16	Novartis	$123,595	$59.42
17	Forcepoint	$123,204	$59.23
18	Twilio	$123,179	$59.22
19	Anaplan	$121,436	$58.38
20	Medidata	$120,920	$58.13

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$53,000$52,000$51,000$50,000$49,000$48,000

MaleFemale

Sales specialist salary trends

The average sales specialist salary has risen by $7,284 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average sales specialist earned $45,720 annually, but today, they earn $53,004 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for sales specialists over the last decade.

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

Average sales specialist salary over time

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

Sales specialist salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2026	$53,000	$25.48	+3.4%
2025	$51,200	$24.60	+2.4%
2024	$50,000	$24.02	+2.6%
2023	$48,600	$23.39	-0.3%
2022	$48,800	$23.46	+2.5%

Recently added sales specialist salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Qualys	Cloud Sales Specialist	Foster City, CA	06/30/2025	$230,000
Windstream Communications	Residential Door To Door Sales Specialist 5K	Somerset, KY	06/30/2025	$70,000
2020Companies	Chromebook Sales Specialist	Portland, OR	06/30/2025	$37,566
2020Companies	Chromebook Sales Specialist	Minneapolis, MN	06/30/2025	$39,653
2020Companies	Chromebook Sales Specialist	Aiea, HI	06/30/2025	$41,740
Amplity	Neuroscience Sales Specialist-White	White Plains, NY	06/30/2025	$115,000
2020Companies	Chromebook Sales Specialist	Westbury, NY	06/30/2025	$39,653
Amplity	Neuroscience Sales Specialist	Waco, TX	06/30/2025	$100,000
2020Companies	Chromebook Sales Specialist	Winter Garden, FL	06/30/2025	$35,479
2020Companies	Bilingual Samsung Sales Experience Specialist	Glendale, CA	06/30/2025	$41,740