Sales Associate: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of sales associates earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $27,210
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of sales associates earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $29,900
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of sales associates earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $35,410
- Hourly
- $17.03
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of sales associates earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $38,670
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of sales associates earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $47,890
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Sales Associates sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers. The median pay is $35,410 a year ($17.03 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (63% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $35,410
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 3,897,860
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- some preparation
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 63% of workers
Data Government data groups this job as Retail Salespersons (O*NET-SOC 41-2031.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Every page for Sales Associates
Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.
Open →How to becomeSales Associate how to becomeEducation, training and the skills to build first.
Open →ResumeSales Associate resumeKeywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.
Open →Interview questionsSales Associate interview questionsQuestions with what they test, plus practice mode.
Open →Free toolCheck your resumeParsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.
Open →What sales associates do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
- Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
- Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment.
- Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental.
- Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
- Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.
- Demonstrate use or operation of merchandise.
- Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Mathematics, Administrative.
Software sales associates use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- Adobe IllustratorGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
- Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- Autodesk AutoCADComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- ASI Point of SalePoint of sale POS software
- Advanced Retail Management Systems Retail ProPoint of sale POS software
- American Precision Instruments RegitPoint of sale POS software
- Attitude POS itive AccuPOS RetailPoint of sale POS software
- Bibase 4POS RetailPoint of sale POS software
- CAP Automation SellWisePoint of sale POS software
Also called: Sale Associate, Car Salesman, Customer Assistant, Retail Salesperson, Sales Clerk, Sales Consultant.
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How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).