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Job outlook for specialty sales representatives in the United States
Specialty sales representative job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected specialty sales representative job growth rate is 4% from 2018-2028.
About 63,300 new jobs for specialty sales representatives are projected over the next decade.
Specialty sales representative salaries have increased 10% for specialty sales representatives in the last 5 years.
There are over 128,973 specialty sales representatives currently employed in the United States.
There are 174,608 active specialty sales representative job openings in the US.
The average specialty sales representative salary is $67,605.
Are specialty sales representative jobs in demand?
Specialty sales representative job and salary trends over time
Specialty sales representative jobs over time
Specialty sales representative job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 128,973 | 0.04% |
| 2020 | 139,629 | 0.04% |
| 2019 | 148,753 | 0.04% |
| 2018 | 151,661 | 0.05% |
| 2017 | 158,547 | 0.05% |
Average specialty sales representative salary over time
Specialty sales representative salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $67,605 | $32.50 | +6.9% |
| 2024 | $63,212 | $30.39 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $62,167 | $29.89 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | $61,504 | $29.57 | --0.2% |
| 2021 | $61,621 | $29.63 | +3.7% |
Specialty sales representative jobs by state
Most common states for specialty sales representatives
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 305 | 44% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 2,436 | 36% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 335 | 32% |
| 4 | Vermont | 623,657 | 199 | 32% |
| 5 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 314 | 30% |
| 6 | Delaware | 961,939 | 276 | 29% |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 3,505 | 27% |
| 8 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 2,431 | 27% |
| 9 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,531 | 27% |
| 10 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 973 | 27% |
| 11 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 829 | 26% |
| 12 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 799 | 26% |
| 13 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 438 | 26% |
| 14 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 3,139 | 25% |
| 15 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,498 | 25% |
| 16 | Florida | 20,984,400 | 5,031 | 24% |
| 17 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 980 | 24% |
| 18 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 710 | 24% |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 325 | 24% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 315 | 24% |
Most common cities for specialty sales representatives
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Myers | 6 | 8% | $53,643 |
| 2 | Orlando | 7 | 3% | $51,941 |
| 3 | Miami | 7 | 2% | $53,212 |
| 4 | Tampa | 6 | 2% | $52,900 |
| 5 | San Jose | 12 | 1% | $96,951 |
| 6 | Jacksonville | 7 | 1% | $50,862 |
| 7 | Atlanta | 6 | 1% | $48,645 |
| 8 | Tucson | 6 | 1% | $68,591 |
| 9 | Fresno | 5 | 1% | $94,300 |
| 10 | Indianapolis | 5 | 1% | $55,195 |
| 11 | Mesa | 5 | 1% | $69,709 |
| 12 | Sacramento | 5 | 1% | $93,553 |
| 13 | Aurora | 4 | 1% | $54,669 |
| 14 | Bakersfield | 4 | 1% | $94,962 |
| 15 | Colorado Springs | 4 | 1% | $55,329 |
| 16 | Chicago | 12 | 0% | $65,424 |
| 17 | Los Angeles | 10 | 0% | $93,004 |
| 18 | Phoenix | 7 | 0% | $70,259 |
| 19 | San Diego | 7 | 0% | $88,050 |
Specialty Sales Representative job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of specialty sales representative experts
University of Maryland - College Park
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Valparaiso University
Montclair State University
Oklahoma Baptist University
Aurora University
University of North Alabama
William & Mary
What Specialty Sales Representative skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Kathleen Kelly: Maximizing your salary potential requires research, flexibility, and being your best advocate.
What general advice would you give to a Specialty Sales Representative?
Kevin Buckley: The biggest factor in earning potential is performance - salespeople get paid based on their ability to hit and exceed quotas through revenue generation. With a sales career, you have a lot of control over earnings. My advice is to be metrics-driven and have a plan to intentionally grow your sales skills through training, mentors, and personal development. Build a reputation for consistent over-achievement. It's also important to do research and understand typical compensation benchmarks. Some may offer higher base pay, while others offer more earnings leverage through aggressive commission/bonus structures.
What Specialty Sales Representative skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kevin Buckley: Adaptability - The sales environment is evolving rapidly with changes in buyer expectations, technologies, and go-to-market strategies. Successful salespeople will need to be highly adaptable, comfortable with change, and able to quickly adjust their approach as needed. Those stuck in outdated methods will struggle. Digital Selling - The ability to effectively sell through digital channels and virtual interactions is now table stakes. Mastering skills like virtual presentations, video marketing, social selling, and leveraging sales technology tools will separate the top performers. Buyers expect a seamless, digitally-enabled experience. Business Acumen - More than ever, salespeople need the ability to position their products/services as strategic solutions that tangibly impact the client's key objectives, financial metrics, and business outcomes. Knowing how to speak the language of business strategy is crucial for consultative selling.
What will help Specialty Sales Representatives increase their earning potential?
Kevin Buckley: My top advice is to be a continuous learner, both about your company/products and about the sales profession itself. Sales is a skill that requires ongoing development through practice, coaching, and studying new techniques. Don't rest on what you learned in school - seek out mentors, training opportunities, and ways to keep enhancing your sales capabilities. I would also advise resilience and to view every 'no' as a step closer to 'yes.' Sales has its share of rejection. Have a positive attitude, persist through obstacles, and be a student of why buyers say no so that you can improve.
What general advice would you give to a Specialty Sales Representative?
Dr. John Hansen: Regarding the third question, the only real way to maximize your salary in sales is to perform well against the success metrics in place in your role. Sales is, for the most part, an outcome-based profession, meaning that pay increases (or decreases) based on outcomes attained. Whatever the success metrics are in the position one is currently in, they will maximize their income to the extent that they perform well in relation to these success metrics.
What Specialty Sales Representative skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. John Hansen: As to the first question, I would suggest any new graduate beginning in sales understand themselves to better understand what type of role they will best fit to. There has been a growing increase in assessment tests in sales to ensure that sales people are being placed in roles they will flourish in. For example, some sales people are more oriented towards finding new customers, while others are more oriented towards managing existing relationships. To the extent that new salespeople can better understand what role they will fit best to, and then secure that role, they are more likely to be successful. Beyond that, there is no substitute for hard work - particularly as one begins their career.
E. Duff Wrobbel Ph.D.
ChairSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville
Communication And Media Studies
What Specialty Sales Representative skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
E. Duff Wrobbel Ph.D.: All things social media are important, and so writing skills still matter.
What will help Specialty Sales Representatives increase their earning potential?
E. Duff Wrobbel Ph.D.: With this major, probably the best salaries are from sales jobs, which many people shy away from because they think only of hustling used cars, but sales can be very good work.
Jon-Paul McCool
Associate Professor of Geography; Environmental Science Program CoordinatorValparaiso University
Natural Resources Conservation And Research
What will help Specialty Sales Representatives increase their earning potential?
Jon-Paul McCool: Utilize your time as an undergraduate student to set yourself apart. Do some kind of research project that can show your ability to do more than only the assigned work in classes. Utilize your summers to gain additional experience by working relevant jobs and internships. To all extents possible, do not limit yourself spatially. Be willing to travel to far flung locations, at least for a few years, to gain relevant experience after graduating rather than being tied to one specific location or region. You are far more employable with a couple years experience rather than straight out of school.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Specialty Sales Representative job market given the pandemic?
Jeffrey Gonzalez: I have to stress that I'm not an economist but an English professor who does a little work helping English majors think about their career options. That said, the American economy seems to continue down a bifurcated path--white collar labor that provides a modicum of security and blue- or pink-collar labor or gig work that isn't secure or well-paid. I would bet that we'll see a great deal of jobs in both sectors emerge as more people are vaccinated and as the summer months mean more people interacting outside, and I'm also optimistic about the stimulus packages' effect on the economy.
The trends will, if you ask me, mean more hiring. But for the students I work with, it'll likely be more of the same: underemployment for Humanities majors upon first graduating college, followed by slow & steady growth in wages and benefits through a period of switching jobs and careers. They'll start in jobs that involve reading, writing, researching, and analysis, or they'll support individuals engaged in these processes, before they start designing or directing projects of their own. Workers who learn fast, who have great language skills, who are adaptable to different circumstances--these people have the best chance of achieving careers.
Where will we see growth? In areas that cater to the very wealthy; in app development; in health care/public health (of course); in finance; in entertainment production though housed in a handful of places.
Will we see growth in academic hiring? Not for the field I work in--the teaching & research side. We will continue to see growth in the administrative aspects of the university, which has been the trend for decades, while tenure-line hiring has declined considerably. It's not a good job to pursue.
Dr. Daryl Green
Associate Professor of BusinessOklahoma Baptist University
College of Business
What technical skills for a Specialty Sales Representative stand out to employers?
Dr. Daryl Green: According to a 2013 Gallup poll, more than one-third of business leaders doubt that higher education institutions in the U.S. are graduating students who meet their particular businesses' needs. In fact, the study showed that there is a disconnection between what business leaders need and what higher education is producing. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has identified eight competencies associated with career readiness. These skills include career management, communication, critical thinking, cultural intelligence, digital literacy, leadership, professionalism, and teamwork. Sadly, most students are not aware of employers' expectations of career readiness competencies.
Jacqueline Babb
Assistant Professor of Digital Marketing, Director of Graduate StudiesAurora University
Marketing Department
What technical skills for a Specialty Sales Representative stand out to employers?
Jacqueline Babb: Technical skills paired with strong communication, flexibility in thought, diversity, and creative problem solving are a winning combination for job candidates. Candidates with a strong acumen in data analysis and storytelling are marketable right now.
John Cicala Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Digital MarketingUniversity of North Alabama
Management & Marketing Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Specialty Sales Representative job market given the pandemic?
John Cicala Ph.D.: Increased use and reliance on digital-based marketing, thereby resulting in an increased need for people who understand and appreciate the differences in and among the many digital marketing avenues available. Also, a need for individuals who can not only analyze collected data but who can understand and interpret it as well.
Dr. Matteo Cantarello Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Hispanic StudiesWilliam & Mary
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
How have salaries changed over time for Specialty Sales Representatives?
Dr. Matteo Cantarello Ph.D.: I don't have data and I am sure it varies a lot depending on the institution, the position, the field, etcetera. There is a close relationship between "prestige" of a position (tenure-eligible or a renown postdoctoral fellowship vs. visiting, more teaching-oriented positions) and compensation. A prestigious postdoctoral fellowship with 1 or less courses per semester to teach and/or TE positions with a 2-2 or a 3-3 pay up to 100% more than the average NTE position, that typically dictates a 3-3, 4-4, or 5-5 teaching load. In general, however, the more secure your position is the easier it is to secure funding and other resources that complement the base salary.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Specialty Sales Representative job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Matteo Cantarello Ph.D.: In regard to the academic job market, I can talk about Hispanic/Latin American studies and, broadly speaking, literary and cultural studies. In the past year or two, trans- and interdisciplinarity are a must have to be successful. Research topics that are related to race and gender are also extremely important. More than trends, I would talk about urgency when it comes to higher education. The job market outside of higher education seems to be liking business and computer sciences. In the United States, in particular, any intersection between these two fields (e.g., digital security, cryptocurrency) has been extremely popular.