Sales Managers: salary, outlook & degrees
Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.
Middle half $100,360–$207,340. 637,080 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
68% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $101,525.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 47,300 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 12% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Business Management And Administration | 10% | Business Administration |
| General Business | 8% | Business |
| Communications | 6% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure | 3% | Kinesiology / Exercise Science · Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies |
| Finance | 3% | Finance · Insurance |
| Economics | 3% | Economics |
| Psychology | 3% | Psychology |
| Political Science And Government | 2% | Political Science |
| Hospitality Management | 2% | Hospitality Management |
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 |
|---|---|
| New York | $217,640 |
| Massachusetts | $191,200 |
| Virginia | $191,130 |
| Colorado | $180,850 |
| Washington | $174,000 |
| New Jersey | $173,020 |
| Connecticut | $162,110 |
| Kansas | $159,990 |
| Georgia | $159,890 |
| Maine | $158,660 |
| Oregon | $155,810 |
| Illinois | $155,280 |
| Rhode Island | $154,970 |
| Minnesota | $151,670 |
| North Carolina | $150,470 |
| Arizona | $145,690 |
| New Hampshire | $141,900 |
| District of Columbia | $141,800 |
| Vermont | $138,650 |
| Maryland | $137,150 |
| Michigan | $136,870 |
| Utah | $136,520 |
| South Dakota | $136,360 |
| Texas | $136,020 |
| Ohio | $135,510 |
| Idaho | $135,350 |
| California | $134,910 |
| Wisconsin | $134,870 |
| Iowa | $134,010 |
| Florida | $131,900 |
| Indiana | $131,470 |
| South Carolina | $131,080 |
| Pennsylvania | $130,610 |
| Wyoming | $129,840 |
| Oklahoma | $128,920 |
| Kentucky | $128,650 |
| Tennessee | $128,040 |
| Nebraska | $126,990 |
| Alabama | $124,040 |
| North Dakota | $119,990 |
| Montana | $117,390 |
| Hawaii | $116,340 |
| Missouri | $115,370 |
| New Mexico | $114,080 |
| Louisiana | $110,700 |
| Nevada | $109,790 |
| Mississippi | $108,750 |
| Arkansas | $108,330 |
| VI | $107,740 |
| Alaska | $98,860 |
| West Virginia | $94,830 |
| PR | $78,960 |
| GU | $60,740 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$130,180
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$132,010
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$131,770
- Jacksonville$133,460
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$124,820
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$119,810
- Lakeland-Winter Haven$126,890
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$132,950
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$175,820
- Richmond$168,590
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$158,750
- Kingsport-Bristol$132,950
- Roanoke$138,380
- Charlottesville$169,390
- Harrisonburg$157,260
- Winchester$157,340
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$132,330
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$170,810
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$201,780
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$119,750
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$103,220
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$113,980
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$107,720
- Fresno$101,020
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
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
Knowledge used
- Sales and Marketing
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Personnel and Human Resources
Work styles
- Leadership Orientation
- Social Orientation
- Dependability
- Perseverance
- Achievement Orientation
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.
Sales Managers: questions
How much do sales Managers make?
Sales Managers earn a U.S. median $148,270 a year; the middle half earn $100,360 to $207,340 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $86,296 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is sales Managers a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 4.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,300 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a sales Manager?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 76% 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 marketing And Marketing Research (12%).
How much do sales Managers make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $131,900 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $148,270 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 11-2022. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Sales Managers: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/sales-managers.