Business and Financial Operations Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 13-1020

Buyers and Purchasing Agents

About 52,200 projected annual openings shape how to read Buyers and Purchasing Agents against Financial Risk Specialists, Financial Specialists, All Other, Personal Financial Advisors, Financial Examiners.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Buyers and Purchasing Agents: Financial Risk Specialists ($117K) , Financial Specialists, All Other ($81K) , Personal Financial Advisors ($105K) , Financial Examiners ($94K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

Highest-pay states for Buyers and Purchasing Agents

State names lead when O*NET tasks are absent for this SOC, geography mass differs by occupation even when peer titles overlap.

  1. 1. Maryland $90,900
  2. 2. Washington $85,130
  3. 3. Massachusetts $85,970
  4. 4. District of Columbia $124,090
  5. 5. Virginia $89,210
  6. 6. Colorado $83,590
  7. 7. New Jersey $93,250
  8. 8. Alaska $83,460
  9. 9. Rhode Island $86,240
  10. 10. Connecticut $83,030

Other Business and Financial Operations Occupations careers next to Buyers and Purchasing Agents

Same BLS major group, ordered by national median.

  1. 1. Personal Financial Advisors $105,070
  2. 2. Financial Examiners $94,160
  3. 3. Business Operations Specialists, All Other $83,050
  4. 4. Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes $82,890
  5. 5. Financial Risk Specialists $117,330
  6. 6. Insurance Underwriters $81,370
  7. 7. Financial Specialists, All Other $81,100
  8. 8. Budget Analysts $91,640
  9. 9. Labor Relations Specialists $95,420
  10. 10. Credit Analysts $83,510
  11. 11. Management Analysts $101,860
  12. 12. Financial and Investment Analysts $102,740
Projected annual openings
52,200
growth + transfers + exits
National median $77,710/yr
$78K
National median
↑ +6%
Growth 2024-2034
491,430
Estimated US jobs
Financial Risk Specialists
Highest-pay peer · $117K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Peer ladder above lists 12 other Business and Financial Operations Occupations titles , led here by Financial Risk Specialists.

Roughly 52,200 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Buyers and Purchasing Agents. Median pay is $77,710 in Business and Financial Operations Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +6% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Maryland at $90,900. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Financial Risk Specialists at $117,330. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Buyers and Purchasing Agents pay-rank #22 in Business and Financial Operations Occupations

Buyers and Purchasing Agents sits at pay-rank #22 of 32 detailed Business and Financial Operations Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 13-1020 · national median $77,710 · middle third of Business and Financial Operations Occupations (#22/32). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Buyers and Purchasing Agents salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 13-1020

Maryland · top state for Buyers and Purchasing Agents

$91K published median

Washington · #2 state pay

$85K · behind Maryland

Financial Risk Specialists

Highest-pay peer vs Buyers and Purchasing Agents · $117K

Financial Specialists, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Buyers and Purchasing Agents · $81K

Compare Buyers and Purchasing Agents

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Buyers and Purchasing Agents with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Buyers and Purchasing Agents mid-table among Business and Financial Operations Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #22 of 32 detailed Business and Financial Operations Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators ($78K), Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists ($78K), Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage ($78K), Cost Estimators ($79K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What is the OEWS national median for Buyers and Purchasing Agents? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $77,710 as the national median for Buyers and Purchasing Agents. The published 10th-90th range is $48,380 to $128,870. Beside Financial Risk Specialists ($117,330), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Buyers and Purchasing Agents? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is +6%. Projected annual openings: about 52,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Buyers and Purchasing Agents? ▼
Maryland ($90,900), Washington ($85,130), Massachusetts ($85,970) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Buyers and Purchasing Agents card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 13-1020. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Buyers and Purchasing Agents. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics