Sales & related occupations

Minor Occupation Group

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2020 Workforce

14.6M

Average Age

39.8

Average Salary

$51,468

Average Male Salary

$67,899

Average Female Salary

$35,181

About

Sales & related occupations are most often employed by the Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores industry. The average yearly wage for Sales & related occupations was $51,468 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Sales & related occupations by wage are Installation, maintenance, & repair occupations, Military specific occupations, and Protective service occupations.

Sales & related occupations are part of the Sales & Office Occupations, along with Sales & related occupations and Office & Administrative Support Occupations.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Sales & related occupations are Forsyth County PUMA, GA, Benton County PUMA, AR, and Walton, Washington, Holmes & Bay Counties PUMA, FL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Sales & related occupations are Palm Beach County (West of Boca Raton City) PUMA, FL, Barrier Islands Region PUMA, FL, and Doral, Sweetwater Cities & Fontainebleau PUMA, FL.

Photo by Drew Leavy

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Sales & related occupations and on wages and locations for those in the field. Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores is the industry that employs the most Sales & related occupations, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Sales & related occupations, by average wage, is Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments. Sales & related occupations are paid most in Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Palm Beach County (West of Boca Raton City) PUMA, FL.

Yearly Wage

$51,468

AVERAGE SALARY

± $461

In 2020, Sales & related occupations earned an average of $51,468, $4,486 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Installation, maintenance, & repair occupations make somewhat more than Sales & related occupations while Military specific occupations make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Sales & related occupations as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.55

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Sales & related occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.55, which is higher than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly for Sales & related occupations (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Sales & related occupations.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Sales & related occupations

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Sales & related occupations.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Sales & related occupations, by number of employees, are Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores, General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters, Restaurants & Food Services, Clothing stores, Lessors of real estate, and offices of real estate agents and brokers, Building material & supplies dealers, Insurance carriers, Car Dealers, Department stores, Gasoline stations, and Not specified retail trade.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Sales & related occupations, by average wage, are Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, and Computer & peripheral equipment manufacturing.

Industries by Share

14.6M

2020 Workforce

± 89,040

−1.76%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 0.874%

The number of people employed as Sales & related occupations has been declining at a rate of −1.76%, from 14,850,921 people in 2019 to 14,588,880 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Sales & related occupations employed by various industries. Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores employs the largest share of Sales & related occupations at 7.82%, followed by General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters with 7.32% and Restaurants & Food Services with 6.02%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Sales & related occupations in the US. The average age of male Sales & related occupations in the workforce is 41.2 and of female Sales & related occupations is 38.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Sales & related occupations is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

7.26M

MALE WORKFORCE

± 64,522

7.33M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 64,791

50.2% of Sales & related occupations are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Sales & related occupations.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Sales & related occupations

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

64.6% of Sales & related occupations are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 10.6% of Sales & related occupations, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Sales & related occupations.

Age by Sex

41.2

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.14

38.5

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.145

The median age of Sales & related occupations is 39.8, and Male employees are generally 2.63 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Sales & related occupations from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Sales & related occupations is Business but a relatively high number of Sales & related occupations hold a major in Business.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Sales & related occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sales & related occupations need many skills, but most especially Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Sales & related occupations need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Negotiation, and Persuasion.