Sales and Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 41-2022

Parts Salespersons

Median pay sits 40% below the mid peer in Sales and Related Occupations (neighbors include Sales Engineers, Models, Insurance Sales Agents, Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Parts Salespersons: Sales Engineers ($125K) , Models ($48K) , Insurance Sales Agents ($62K) , Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents ($79K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Parts Salespersons publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 41-2022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Receive payment or obtain credit authorization
  2. 2. Assist customers, such as responding to customer complaints and updating them about back-ordered parts
  3. 3. Fill customer orders from stock, and place orders when requested items are out of stock
  4. 4. Receive and fill telephone orders for parts
  5. 5. Locate and label parts, and maintain inventory of stock
  6. 6. Prepare sales slips or sales contracts
  7. 7. Read catalogs, microfiche viewers, or computer displays to determine replacement part stock numbers and prices
  8. 8. Determine replacement parts required, according to inspections of old parts, customer requests, or customers' descriptions of malfunctions
  9. 9. Examine returned parts for defects, and exchange defective parts or refund money
  10. 10. Manage shipments by researching shipping methods or costs and tracking packages
  11. 11. Mark and store parts in stockrooms, according to prearranged systems
  12. 12. Maintain and clean work and inventory areas

Parts Salespersons: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 41-2022 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 4.0
  3. 3. Persuasion 3.8
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.6
  5. 5. Service Orientation 3.6
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.4
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 3.3
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.4
  2. 2. Sales and Marketing 4.1
  3. 3. Administration and Management 4.0
  4. 4. Administrative 3.9
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.8
  6. 6. English Language 3.6
Pay vs Sales and Related Occupations peers
-40%
vs mid peer median $64,820
This role $38,630/yr
$39K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
30,200
Annual openings
270,070
Estimated US jobs
Sales Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $125K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Parts Salespersons

1. Vermont $46,260
2. Colorado $47,660
3. Minnesota $47,030
4. New Hampshire $46,370
5. Iowa $46,670
6. North Dakota $48,600
7. New Jersey $45,510
8. Alaska $46,130
9. Arizona $46,020
10. Washington $46,830

Other Sales and Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Insurance Sales Agents $62,280
  2. 2. Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents $78,660
  3. 3. Models $48,470
  4. 4. Sales Engineers $124,900
  5. 5. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products $72,080
  6. 6. Real Estate Sales Agents $52,830

Among Sales and Related Occupations peers on this card, Parts Salespersons sits 40% below the mid peer median ($64,820). Its own median is $38,630.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 30,200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential 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: Vermont at $46,260. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Sales Engineers at $124,900. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Parts Salespersons pay-rank #18 in Sales and Related Occupations

On the Sales and Related Occupations median table (22 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Parts Salespersons lands at #18, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third 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 41-2022 · national median $38,630 · lower third of Sales and Related Occupations (#18/22). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Parts Salespersons salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 41-2022

Vermont · top state for Parts Salespersons

$46K published median

Colorado · #2 state pay

$48K · behind Vermont

Sales Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Parts Salespersons · $125K

Models

Lower-pay peer beside Parts Salespersons · $48K

Compare Parts Salespersons

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Parts Salespersons with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Parts Salespersons

Against another occupation

Sales Engineers card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Parts Salespersons land on the Sales and Related Occupations median table? ▼
Parts Salespersons is pay-rank #18 of 22 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Demonstrators and Product Promoters ($39K), Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers ($36K), Counter and Rental Clerks ($41K), Telemarketers ($35K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do parts salespersons do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Parts Salespersons. Leading ones include: Receive payment or obtain credit authorization; Assist customers, such as responding to customer complaints and updating them about back-ordered parts; Fill customer orders from stock, and place orders when requested items are out of stock; Receive and fill telephone orders for parts. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for parts salespersons? ▼
For SOC 41-2022, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Persuasion (3.8), Reading Comprehension (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Sales and Marketing, Administration and Management. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Parts Salespersons? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $38,630 as the national median for Parts Salespersons. The published 10th-90th range is $28,240 to $62,890. Beside Sales Engineers ($124,900), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Parts Salespersons? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Parts Salespersons is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 30,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Parts Salespersons? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Parts Salespersons. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Parts Salespersons? ▼
Vermont ($46,260), Colorado ($47,660), Minnesota ($47,030) 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 Parts Salespersons card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 41-2022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Parts Salespersons. 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