Sales and Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 41-4012

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

About 114,800 projected annual openings shape how to read Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products against Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents, Models, Advertising Sales Agents, Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products: Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents ($79K) , Models ($48K) , Advertising Sales Agents ($65K) , Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel ($70K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 41-4012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Negotiate with retail merchants to improve product exposure, such as shelf positioning and advertising
  2. 2. Check stock levels and reorder merchandise as necessary
  3. 3. Plan, assemble, and stock product displays in retail stores, or make recommendations to retailers regarding product displays, promotional…
  4. 4. Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms
  5. 5. Recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests
  6. 6. Estimate or quote prices, credit or contract terms, warranties, and delivery dates
  7. 7. Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and to provide ongoing support
  8. 8. Negotiate details of contracts and payments
  9. 9. Prepare sales contracts and order forms
  10. 10. Provide customers with product samples and catalogs
  11. 11. Monitor market conditions, product innovations, and competitors' products, prices, and sales
  12. 12. Perform administrative duties, such as preparing sales budgets and reports, keeping sales records, and filing expense account reports

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 41-4012 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Sales and Marketing. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 4.0
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 3.8
  4. 4. Persuasion 3.8
  5. 5. Negotiation 3.8
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.5
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 3.4
  8. 8. Writing 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Sales and Marketing 4.9
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 4.8
  3. 3. English Language 4.4
  4. 4. Mathematics 3.9
  5. 5. Transportation 3.7
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.2
Projected annual openings
114,800
growth + transfers + exits
National median $72,080/yr
$72K
National median
↑ +0%
Growth 2024-2034
1,238,190
Estimated US jobs
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
Highest-pay peer · $79K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

1. Rhode Island $82,420
2. Washington $79,830
3. Massachusetts $79,810
4. Colorado $79,250
5. South Dakota $77,210
6. District of Columbia $80,010
7. Minnesota $76,750
8. New York $79,590
9. Vermont $76,840
10. New Jersey $79,410

Other Sales and Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Advertising Sales Agents $64,820
  2. 2. Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents $78,660
  3. 3. Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel $69,990
  4. 4. Real Estate Sales Agents $52,830
  5. 5. First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers $48,520
  6. 6. Models $48,470

Roughly 114,800 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products. Median pay is $72,080 in Sales and Related Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +0% change between 2024 and 2034 (slower than average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent 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: Rhode Island at $82,420. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents at $78,660. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products pay-rank #6 in Sales and Related Occupations

Among 22 detailed Sales and Related Occupations with a published OEWS median, Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products is pay-rank #6, 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.

SOC 41-4012 · national median $72,080 · upper third of Sales and Related Occupations (#6/22). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 41-4012

Rhode Island · top state for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

$82K published median

Washington · #2 state pay

$80K · behind Rhode Island

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents

Highest-pay peer vs Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products · $79K

Models

Lower-pay peer beside Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products · $48K

Compare Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which Sales and Related Occupations titles sit near Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products at the top of the pay table? ▼
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products is pay-rank #6 of 22 detailed Sales and Related Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Real Estate Brokers ($73K), Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel ($70K), Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents ($79K), Advertising Sales Agents ($65K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products. Leading ones include: Negotiate with retail merchants to improve product exposure, such as shelf positioning and advertising; Check stock levels and reorder merchandise as necessary; Plan, assemble, and stock product displays in retail stores, or make recommendations to retailers regarding product displays, promotional…; Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products? ▼
For SOC 41-4012, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Social Perceptiveness (3.8), Persuasion (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $72,080 as the national median for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products. The published 10th-90th range is $39,090 to $137,550. Beside Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents ($78,660), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products is +0%. Projected annual openings: about 114,800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: slower than average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products? ▼
Rhode Island ($82,420), Washington ($79,830), Massachusetts ($79,810) 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 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 41-4012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products. 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