General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations degree: salary, jobs & colleges

Bachelor's graduates in general sales, merchandising and related marketing operations earn a median $75,796 four years after finishing, across 25 U.S. colleges. At ages 25-34, people whose degree is in marketing and marketing research earn $68,216, $6,167 more than all bachelor's holders. The most common job is marketing managers (8%).

Graduates, 4 years out
$75,796

Median across 25 colleges; middle half $68,903–$82,441.

College Scorecard field of study (graduates who received federal aid)

All workers ages 25-34 with this degree
$68,216

Middle half $45,686–$97,761. 14,398 survey respondents.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; field "Marketing And Marketing Research"; EducationGuide calculation

Compared with
  • All bachelor's, 25-34$62,049
  • High school, 25-34$35,638
  • This degree vs high school+$32,578/yr

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school

Median federal debt at graduation
$24,430

Median across colleges reporting.

College Scorecard field of study

Jobs general sales, merchandising and related marketing operations graduates hold

What employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in marketing and marketing research actually do, with U.S. wages and the outlook for each job. The first column comes from the Census survey; wages and growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

JobShare of graduatesU.S. median wageJobs growth 2025-35Typical entryInterests
Marketing Managers8%$166,790+6.9%Bachelor's degreeEC
Market Research Analysts And Marketing Specialists5%$78,760+7.0%Bachelor's degreeECI
Other Managers5%————
Customer Service Representatives4%$44,770-5.3%High school diploma or equivalentCES
Sales Representatives, Wholesale And Manufacturing3%$76,460———
First-Line Supervisors Of Retail Sales Workers3%$48,520-3.7%High school diploma or equivalentECS
Sales Representatives Of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, And Travel3%$69,990+2.7%High school diploma or equivalentECS
Retail Salespersons3%$35,410-0.3%No formal educational credentialEC

These 8 jobs account for 34% of employed graduates: people with this degree spread across many kinds of work.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, bachelor's as highest degree, employed); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35; O*NET 31.0 interest codes (R realistic, I investigative, A artistic, S social, E enterprising, C conventional).

General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations earnings by state

Two views of pay: recent graduates of the state's colleges four years out (College Scorecard), and everyone ages 25-34 living in the state with this field of degree (Census). States show a figure only with at least 3 colleges or 100 survey respondents.

StateGraduates, 4 yrs (colleges)Ages 25-34 (respondents)
Alabama—$55,839 (152)
Arizona—$65,991 (224)
California—$74,816 (1,470)
Colorado—$72,618 (491)
Connecticut—$83,527 (154)
Florida—$59,662 (807)
Georgia—$66,821 (599)
Illinois—$74,852 (826)
Indiana—$59,662 (238)
Iowa—$63,680 (115)
Kentucky—$61,446 (165)
Louisiana—$53,625 (129)
Maryland—$71,594 (185)
Massachusetts—$80,809 (459)
Michigan—$65,628 (423)
Minnesota—$72,618 (373)
Missouri—$55,860 (239)
New Jersey—$73,321 (687)
New York$58,141 (3)$78,710 (1,054)
North Carolina—$65,628 (417)
Ohio—$63,545 (589)
Oregon—$68,216 (164)
Pennsylvania—$63,961 (653)
South Carolina—$61,446 (237)
Tennessee—$63,242 (348)
Texas$93,141 (3)$67,032 (1,209)
Utah—$65,991 (163)
Virginia—$78,209 (317)
Washington—$73,321 (277)
Wisconsin$66,875 (3)$71,594 (269)

College Scorecard field of study (median of each college's graduates); Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; EducationGuide calculations.

Colleges where general sales, merchandising and related marketing operations graduates earn the most

In the states we cover so far (Florida, Virginia, California): 2 in Florida, 2 in Virginia, 0 in California offer this major. Open a college to see cost to finish and payback for your income.

#CollegeEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
1Virginia Union UniversityVA$64,924$35,000

College Scorecard field of study. Colleges meeting our core-data standard; online campuses left out.

General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations degree questions

How much do General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations graduates make?

General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations graduates earn a median $75,796 four years after finishing, across 25 U.S. colleges that report it (the middle half of colleges: $68,903 to $82,441; College Scorecard, graduates who received federal aid). Among all workers ages 25-34 whose bachelor's degree is in marketing and marketing research, the median is $68,216 (Census ACS 2020-2024).

Is a General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations degree worth it?

At ages 25-34, people with a bachelor's in marketing and marketing research earn a median $68,216: $6,167 more than all bachelor's degree holders ($62,049) and $32,578 more than high school graduates ($35,638). EducationGuide calculation from Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school.

What jobs do General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations graduates get?

Among employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in marketing and marketing research, the most common jobs are marketing managers (8%), market research analysts and marketing specialists (5%), other managers (5%). Marketing Managers earn a U.S. median $166,790.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey microdata; Bureau of Labor Statistics; O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0). Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all degrees
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