Purchasing Managers: salary, outlook & degrees
Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of buyers, purchasing officers, and related workers involved in purchasing materials, products, and services. Includes wholesale or retail trade merchandising managers and procurement managers.
Middle half $115,550–$182,270. 84,320 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
77% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $88,300.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 6,400 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Business Management And Administration | 13% | Business Administration |
| Operations Logistics And E-Commerce | 7% | — |
| General Business | 6% | Business |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 6% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Economics | 4% | Economics |
| Accounting | 3% | Accounting |
| Political Science And Government | 3% | Political Science |
| Mechanical Engineering | 3% | Mechanical Engineering |
| Psychology | 3% | Psychology |
| Finance | 3% | Finance · Insurance |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $175,720 |
| New Jersey | $174,520 |
| Colorado | $171,250 |
| Massachusetts | $170,750 |
| New York | $166,300 |
| Virginia | $166,230 |
| New Hampshire | $162,900 |
| Washington | $162,730 |
| Maryland | $161,470 |
| Kansas | $159,850 |
| California | $159,830 |
| Arkansas | $156,450 |
| Georgia | $155,360 |
| Illinois | $153,370 |
| West Virginia | $147,220 |
| Minnesota | $144,810 |
| Michigan | $142,120 |
| Pennsylvania | $141,790 |
| Arizona | $138,940 |
| North Carolina | $138,710 |
| Connecticut | $138,680 |
| Oregon | $137,190 |
| Tennessee | $137,060 |
| Idaho | $136,970 |
| Maine | $135,970 |
| Vermont | $135,720 |
| New Mexico | $134,790 |
| Texas | $134,670 |
| Ohio | $134,580 |
| Rhode Island | $134,560 |
| Florida | $133,410 |
| Missouri | $132,100 |
| South Carolina | $131,720 |
| Alabama | $130,710 |
| North Dakota | $130,110 |
| South Dakota | $128,670 |
| Indiana | $126,880 |
| Utah | $125,940 |
| Wisconsin | $124,990 |
| Kentucky | $124,350 |
| Nebraska | $124,010 |
| Montana | $123,480 |
| Wyoming | $123,380 |
| Mississippi | $122,940 |
| Iowa | $121,580 |
| Nevada | $120,270 |
| Oklahoma | $119,310 |
| Alaska | $114,650 |
| Hawaii | $113,490 |
| Louisiana | $109,630 |
| PR | $89,600 |
| GU | $80,290 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$131,400
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$139,430
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$129,470
- Jacksonville$136,970
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$150,530
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$127,460
- Lakeland-Winter Haven$127,200
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$128,330
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$172,150
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$143,230
- Richmond$147,410
- Kingsport-Bristol$130,490
- Charlottesville$150,260
- Roanoke$118,430
- Lynchburg$125,110
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$156,400
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$170,440
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$198,980
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$158,620
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$131,070
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$146,750
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$139,560
- Fresno$127,510
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Monitoring
Knowledge used
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Law and Government
- Economics and Accounting
Work styles
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Leadership Orientation
- Self-Confidence
People in this job tend to have Enterprising (leading), Conventional (organizing) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Purchasing Managers: questions
How much do purchasing Managers make?
Purchasing Managers earn a U.S. median $148,080 a year; the middle half earn $115,550 to $182,270 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $79,431 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is purchasing Managers a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 4.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,400 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a purchasing Manager?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 63% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is business Management And Administration (13%).
How much do purchasing Managers make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $133,410 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $148,080 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 11-3061. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Purchasing Managers: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/purchasing-managers.