Management Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 11-3061

Purchasing Managers

The published band from $92,490 to $223,280 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Architectural and Engineering Managers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Purchasing Managers: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($171K) , Training and Development Managers ($133K) , Human Resources Managers ($149K) , Managers, All Other ($142K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Purchasing Managers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 11-3061 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures
  2. 2. Locate vendors of materials, equipment or supplies, and interview them to determine product availability and terms of sales
  3. 3. Prepare bid awards requiring board approval
  4. 4. Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in buying, selling, and distributing materials, equipment, machinery, and supplies
  5. 5. Review purchase order claims and contracts for conformance to company policy
  6. 6. Review, evaluate, and approve specifications for issuing and awarding bids
  7. 7. Administer online purchasing systems
  8. 8. Prepare and process requisitions and purchase orders for supplies and equipment
  9. 9. Interview and hire staff, and oversee staff training
  10. 10. Develop cost reduction strategies and savings plans
  11. 11. Control purchasing department budgets
  12. 12. Resolve vendor or contractor grievances and claims against suppliers

Purchasing Managers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 11-3061 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Administration and Management. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 4.0
  3. 3. Management of Personnel Resources 4.0
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  5. 5. Writing 3.9
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.9
  7. 7. Social Perceptiveness 3.9
  8. 8. Negotiation 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Administration and Management 4.3
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  3. 3. English Language 3.9
  4. 4. Law and Government 3.8
  5. 5. Economics and Accounting 3.7
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$92,490 to $223,280
median $148,080 · ~2.4× spread
$148K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
6,400
Annual openings
84,320
Estimated US jobs
Architectural and Engineering Managers
Highest-pay peer · $171K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree
Related experience 5 years or more

Top Paying States for Purchasing Managers

1. Washington $162,730
2. New Hampshire $162,900
3. Virginia $166,230
4. Colorado $171,250
5. District of Columbia $175,720
6. New York $166,300
7. Maryland $161,470
8. New Jersey $174,520
9. Kansas $159,850
10. Massachusetts $170,750

Other Management Occupations titles

  1. 1. Human Resources Managers $149,280
  2. 2. Managers, All Other $141,900
  3. 3. Marketing Managers $166,790
  4. 4. Architectural and Engineering Managers $171,270
  5. 5. Sales Managers $148,270
  6. 6. Training and Development Managers $133,000

The OEWS band for Purchasing Managers runs from $92,490 (10th) to $223,280 (90th), about 2.4× wide, with median $148,080. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 6,400 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry and 5 years or more as the typical related-work-experience category. 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: Washington at $162,730. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Architectural and Engineering Managers at $171,270. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Purchasing Managers pay-rank #10 in Management Occupations

Among 37 detailed Management Occupations with a published OEWS median, Purchasing Managers is pay-rank #10, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Purchasing Managers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Purchasing Managers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 11-3061

Washington · top state for Purchasing Managers

$163K published median

New Hampshire · #2 state pay

$163K · behind Washington

Architectural and Engineering Managers

Highest-pay peer vs Purchasing Managers · $171K

Training and Development Managers

Lower-pay peer beside Purchasing Managers · $133K

Compare Purchasing Managers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Purchasing Managers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Management Occupations titles sit near Purchasing Managers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Purchasing Managers is pay-rank #10 of 37 detailed Management Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Sales Managers ($148K), Compensation and Benefits Managers ($149K), Public Relations Managers ($147K), Human Resources Managers ($149K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do purchasing managers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Purchasing Managers. Leading ones include: Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures; Locate vendors of materials, equipment or supplies, and interview them to determine product availability and terms of sales; Prepare bid awards requiring board approval; Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in buying, selling, and distributing materials, equipment, machinery, and supplies. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for purchasing managers? ▼
For SOC 11-3061, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Management of Personnel Resources (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Purchasing Managers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $92,490 and the 90th at $223,280 for Purchasing Managers (2.4× spread). The national median is $148,080. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Purchasing Managers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Purchasing Managers is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 6,400. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Purchasing Managers? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Purchasing Managers. Related-work-experience category: 5 years or more. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Purchasing Managers? ▼
Washington ($162,730), New Hampshire ($162,900), Virginia ($166,230) 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 Purchasing Managers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 11-3061. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Purchasing Managers. 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