41 Series · SOC 41-9031
Sales Engineers Salary
National pay, percentile range, growth outlook, and state-by-state detail from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (May 2025).
- $124,900
- Median / year
- $195,270
- Top 10% earn
- +5.5%
- Growth '23–'33
- 51,790
- US workers
Sales Engineers earn a median of $124,900 per year.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey, the median annual wage is $124,900, based on the most recent survey of employers. Reported pay ranges from $73,870 (10th percentile) to $195,270 (90th percentile) nationally, across roughly 51,790 US workers. Delaware pays the most ($167,200), since pay varies by state and metro area.
The pay verdict
Sales Engineers earn a median of $124,900, putting them among the better-paid US occupations and higher than 91% of the 825 occupations with a published BLS median. Within Sales and Related, it ranks #1 of 22 by median pay. Employment is projected to grow 5.5% by 2033.
- $124,900
- Median annual wage
- Top 9%
- of 825 US occupations with published wages
- #1 of 22
- in Sales and Related
- 2.6×
- 90th-to-10th pay spread
Highest-paying state: Delaware at $167,200. Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
Sales Engineers (SOC 41-9031) pays a national median of $124,900 per year according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey released in May 2025. Full-range compensation stretches from $73,870 at the 10th percentile to $195,270 at the 90th, with a mean of $130,140 indicating a right-skew where top earners pull the average above the midpoint. An estimated 51,790 Americans work in this occupation across 45 reporting states and 162 metro areas.
BLS Employment Projections forecast a +5.5% change in employment from 2024 to 2034, which the agency classifies as about average relative to the 5% all-occupations baseline. About 5,000 openings are projected per year, combining new positions with replacement needs from retirements and occupation-switchers. Typical entry-level preparation is Bachelor's degree and moderate-term on-the-job training of on-the-job training. The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) produce a workplace-safety grade of A for this role, with a fatality rate of 1.8 per 100,000 and injury rate of 1.5 per 100.
Geographic variation matters as much as the headline median. Delaware pays the highest state median at $167,200, which is +34% above the national figure. The top metro is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $177,490 - metro premiums typically reflect higher cost of living, industry concentration, or specialized employer demand. When using this page for negotiation or career planning, pair the national median with the state and metro rows below, remember that BLS wages exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime, and revisit after each May OEWS release since percentiles shift with cost-of-living cycles and industry demand. See our methodology for exactly how these figures are sourced, computed, and verified.
Median Salary
$124,900
per year
Median Hourly
$60.05/hr
per hour
Mean Salary
$130,140
average
Employment
51,790
jobs nationwide
How does this pay compare nationally?
Where Sales Engineers pay sits nationally
Median annual wage vs. 825 detailed BLS occupations with a published median
$124,900 Top 9% higher than 91% of 825 US occupations
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · May 2025
Does this job pay well and grow?
Each dot is a 41-series occupation, placed by projected 2024–2034 growth and median pay. The highlighted dot is Sales Engineers; the upper-right quadrant is the sweet spot (high pay + fast growth).
Among 21 41-series occupations with growth data, Sales Engineers sits on the faster-growing side at +5.5% growth and $124,900 median pay.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (wages, May 2025) and Employment Projections (2024–2034).
Job Outlook (2024–2034)
Projected Growth
+5.5%
About average
Annual Openings
5,000
per year (projected)
Typical Education
Bachelor's degree
On-the-Job Training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034
Workplace Safety
All safety ratings →Very Safe
Safety Grade (BLS 2023)
Fatality Rate
1.8/100K
Injury Rate
1.5/100
Danger Index
6.9/100
Source: BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) & Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), 2023
Career Intelligence
Skills, knowledge, and tasks most important for Sales Engineers roles, ranked by importance. Source: O*NET.
Top Skills
Knowledge Areas
Key Tasks
- ▸ Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems.
- ▸ Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
- ▸ Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.
- ▸ Create sales or service contracts for products or services.
- ▸ Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages.
- ▸ Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments.
- ▸ Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.
- ▸ Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.
- ▸ Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.
- ▸ Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.
Source: O*NET Online, National Center for O*NET Development. Data represents typical importance ratings for this occupation.
Salary Range
Annual Salary Distribution
Hourly Rate Distribution
10th Percentile
$73,870
25th Percentile
$92,890
Median
$124,900
75th Percentile
$161,230
90th Percentile
$195,270
Salary by State
Highest Paying States
Lowest Paying States
View all 45 states →
| # | State | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | $167,200 | +34% above national |
| 2 | Maryland | $153,410 | +23% above national |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $149,750 | +20% above national |
| 4 | Washington | $147,620 | +18% above national |
| 5 | Colorado | $139,990 | +12% above national |
| 6 | California | $139,160 | +11% above national |
| 7 | New Jersey | $139,010 | +11% above national |
| 8 | New York | $137,480 | +10% above national |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $136,200 | +9% above national |
| 10 | West Virginia | $135,260 | +8% above national |
| 11 | Arizona | $131,870 | +6% above national |
| 12 | Arkansas | $130,760 | +5% above national |
| 13 | Texas | $130,610 | +5% above national |
| 14 | Oregon | $128,170 | +3% above national |
| 15 | Idaho | $128,030 | +3% above national |
| 16 | Florida | $125,530 | +1% above national |
| 17 | Connecticut | $123,660 | 1% below national |
| 18 | Louisiana | $121,680 | 3% below national |
| 19 | North Carolina | $121,530 | 3% below national |
| 20 | New Mexico | $119,420 | 4% below national |
| 21 | South Dakota | $119,110 | 5% below national |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $117,970 | 6% below national |
| 23 | Utah | $117,650 | 6% below national |
| 24 | Vermont | $116,790 | 6% below national |
| 25 | Oklahoma | $114,520 | 8% below national |
| 26 | South Carolina | $114,250 | 9% below national |
| 27 | Michigan | $114,180 | 9% below national |
| 28 | Tennessee | $111,580 | 11% below national |
| 29 | New Hampshire | $107,850 | 14% below national |
| 30 | Alabama | $104,410 | 16% below national |
| 31 | Minnesota | $100,570 | 19% below national |
| 32 | Illinois | $99,710 | 20% below national |
| 33 | Nevada | $99,020 | 21% below national |
| 34 | Georgia | $98,840 | 21% below national |
| 35 | Pennsylvania | $98,500 | 21% below national |
| 36 | Kansas | $98,000 | 22% below national |
| 37 | Ohio | $97,420 | 22% below national |
| 38 | Maine | $95,180 | 24% below national |
| 39 | Missouri | $90,960 | 27% below national |
| 40 | Kentucky | $90,190 | 28% below national |
| 41 | Nebraska | $90,140 | 28% below national |
| 42 | Iowa | $83,450 | 33% below national |
| 43 | Indiana | $74,960 | 40% below national |
| 44 | Alaska | $71,080 | 43% below national |
| 45 | Puerto Rico | $62,970 | 50% below national |
Salary by Metro Area
Highest Paying Metros
View all 162 metro areas →
| # | Metro Area | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $177,490 | +42% above national |
| 2 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $175,310 | +40% above national |
| 3 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $163,810 | +31% above national |
| 4 | Ocala, FL | $158,190 | +27% above national |
| 5 | Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area | $155,990 | +25% above national |
| 6 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $153,560 | +23% above national |
| 7 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $153,410 | +23% above national |
| 8 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $151,610 | +21% above national |
| 9 | Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $151,450 | +21% above national |
| 10 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $147,570 | +18% above national |
| 11 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | $147,130 | +18% above national |
| 12 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $143,970 | +15% above national |
| 13 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $139,990 | +12% above national |
| 14 | Midland, TX | $138,930 | +11% above national |
| 15 | Boulder, CO | $138,720 | +11% above national |
| 16 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $138,560 | +11% above national |
| 17 | Greeley, CO | $138,420 | +11% above national |
| 18 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $137,960 | +10% above national |
| 19 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $136,620 | +9% above national |
| 20 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $136,430 | +9% above national |
| 21 | Albuquerque, NM | $136,260 | +9% above national |
| 22 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $135,050 | +8% above national |
| 23 | Odessa, TX | $134,740 | +8% above national |
| 24 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $133,380 | +7% above national |
| 25 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $133,350 | +7% above national |
| 26 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $133,300 | +7% above national |
| 27 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $133,280 | +7% above national |
| 28 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | $133,010 | +6% above national |
| 29 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $132,510 | +6% above national |
| 30 | Colorado Springs, CO | $130,360 | +4% above national |
| 31 | Chambersburg, PA | $130,310 | +4% above national |
| 32 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | $130,170 | +4% above national |
| 33 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $129,850 | +4% above national |
| 34 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | $129,520 | +4% above national |
| 35 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $128,670 | +3% above national |
| 36 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL | $128,200 | +3% above national |
| 37 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $128,170 | +3% above national |
| 38 | Tallahassee, FL | $128,000 | +2% above national |
| 39 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $127,800 | +2% above national |
| 40 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $126,310 | +1% above national |
| 41 | Worcester, MA | $125,800 | +1% above national |
| 42 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | $125,630 | +1% above national |
| 43 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $125,530 | +1% above national |
| 44 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $124,870 | same as national |
| 45 | Waterbury-Shelton, CT | $123,830 | 1% below national |
| 46 | Killeen-Temple, TX | $123,770 | 1% below national |
| 47 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $123,350 | 1% below national |
| 48 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $122,990 | 2% below national |
| 49 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $122,690 | 2% below national |
| 50 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $122,610 | 2% below national |
| 51 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $121,980 | 2% below national |
| 52 | Lafayette, LA | $121,680 | 3% below national |
| 53 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $121,270 | 3% below national |
| 54 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | $121,100 | 3% below national |
| 55 | Ann Arbor, MI | $121,000 | 3% below national |
| 56 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $119,950 | 4% below national |
| 57 | Madison, WI | $119,900 | 4% below national |
| 58 | Jacksonville, FL | $119,550 | 4% below national |
| 59 | La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | $118,760 | 5% below national |
| 60 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $118,610 | 5% below national |
| 61 | Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT | $118,450 | 5% below national |
| 62 | Columbus, OH | $117,110 | 6% below national |
| 63 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $116,790 | 6% below national |
| 64 | Appleton, WI | $116,570 | 7% below national |
| 65 | Oklahoma City, OK | $116,490 | 7% below national |
| 66 | Northwestern Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area | $116,210 | 7% below national |
| 67 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $115,850 | 7% below national |
| 68 | Wilmington, NC | $114,170 | 9% below national |
| 69 | Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $113,110 | 9% below national |
| 70 | Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $112,220 | 10% below national |
| 71 | Asheville, NC | $111,250 | 11% below national |
| 72 | Fresno, CA | $111,160 | 11% below national |
| 73 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $110,940 | 11% below national |
| 74 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $110,610 | 11% below national |
| 75 | Reno, NV | $110,360 | 12% below national |
| 76 | Winston-Salem, NC | $109,760 | 12% below national |
| 77 | Columbia, SC | $108,830 | 13% below national |
| 78 | New Haven, CT | $107,940 | 14% below national |
| 79 | Green Bay, WI | $107,300 | 14% below national |
| 80 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | $106,130 | 15% below national |
| 81 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | $105,080 | 16% below national |
| 82 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $105,040 | 16% below national |
| 83 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $104,850 | 16% below national |
| 84 | Syracuse, NY | $104,810 | 16% below national |
| 85 | Tulsa, OK | $104,370 | 16% below national |
| 86 | Knoxville, TN | $104,170 | 17% below national |
| 87 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $104,070 | 17% below national |
| 88 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | $103,830 | 17% below national |
| 89 | Rochester, NY | $103,640 | 17% below national |
| 90 | Southern Michigan nonmetropolitan area | $103,490 | 17% below national |
| 91 | Saginaw, MI | $103,440 | 17% below national |
| 92 | Lancaster, PA | $103,320 | 17% below national |
| 93 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $103,040 | 18% below national |
| 94 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $102,910 | 18% below national |
| 95 | Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | $102,800 | 18% below national |
| 96 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $102,790 | 18% below national |
| 97 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $102,340 | 18% below national |
| 98 | Portland-South Portland, ME | $102,200 | 18% below national |
| 99 | Binghamton, NY | $102,120 | 18% below national |
| 100 | Roanoke, VA | $102,010 | 18% below national |
| 101 | Kansas City, MO-KS | $101,640 | 19% below national |
| 102 | Richmond, VA | $101,210 | 19% below national |
| 103 | Akron, OH | $100,560 | 19% below national |
| 104 | Ogden, UT | $100,490 | 20% below national |
| 105 | Logan, UT-ID | $100,310 | 20% below national |
| 106 | Southwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area | $100,240 | 20% below national |
| 107 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | $99,890 | 20% below national |
| 108 | South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $99,880 | 20% below national |
| 109 | Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | $99,690 | 20% below national |
| 110 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $99,230 | 21% below national |
| 111 | West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area | $98,920 | 21% below national |
| 112 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $98,820 | 21% below national |
| 113 | Cedar Rapids, IA | $98,750 | 21% below national |
| 114 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $98,720 | 21% below national |
| 115 | Cleveland, OH | $98,220 | 21% below national |
| 116 | North Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area | $98,170 | 21% below national |
| 117 | Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | $97,960 | 22% below national |
| 118 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $97,920 | 22% below national |
| 119 | Omaha, NE-IA | $97,820 | 22% below national |
| 120 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $97,800 | 22% below national |
| 121 | Savannah, GA | $97,650 | 22% below national |
| 122 | Lynchburg, VA | $97,540 | 22% below national |
| 123 | Pittsburgh, PA | $97,430 | 22% below national |
| 124 | Springfield, MA | $96,860 | 22% below national |
| 125 | Spartanburg, SC | $96,520 | 23% below national |
| 126 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | $96,320 | 23% below national |
| 127 | Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area | $96,060 | 23% below national |
| 128 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | $95,910 | 23% below national |
| 129 | Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area | $95,790 | 23% below national |
| 130 | Youngstown-Warren, OH | $95,020 | 24% below national |
| 131 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | $94,590 | 24% below national |
| 132 | Jackson, MS | $94,420 | 24% below national |
| 133 | York-Hanover, PA | $94,020 | 25% below national |
| 134 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $93,920 | 25% below national |
| 135 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | $93,500 | 25% below national |
| 136 | Wichita, KS | $92,730 | 26% below national |
| 137 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $92,650 | 26% below national |
| 138 | Reading, PA | $92,370 | 26% below national |
| 139 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | $91,880 | 26% below national |
| 140 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $90,190 | 28% below national |
| 141 | North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) | $90,010 | 28% below national |
| 142 | Toledo, OH | $89,780 | 28% below national |
| 143 | North Georgia nonmetropolitan area | $89,680 | 28% below national |
| 144 | Northwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area | $88,220 | 29% below national |
| 145 | Lubbock, TX | $88,010 | 30% below national |
| 146 | Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $87,880 | 30% below national |
| 147 | Kansas nonmetropolitan area | $86,420 | 31% below national |
| 148 | Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area | $86,370 | 31% below national |
| 149 | Utica-Rome, NY | $85,790 | 31% below national |
| 150 | El Paso, TX | $85,210 | 32% below national |
| 151 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | $84,990 | 32% below national |
| 152 | Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area | $84,730 | 32% below national |
| 153 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $83,450 | 33% below national |
| 154 | Lincoln, NE | $83,240 | 33% below national |
| 155 | Traverse City, MI | $82,780 | 34% below national |
| 156 | Tucson, AZ | $82,780 | 34% below national |
| 157 | Erie, PA | $82,300 | 34% below national |
| 158 | Canton-Massillon, OH | $80,370 | 36% below national |
| 159 | Rockford, IL | $75,320 | 40% below national |
| 160 | Springfield, MO | $71,250 | 43% below national |
| 161 | Anchorage, AK | $71,080 | 43% below national |
| 162 | San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR | $51,460 | 59% below national |
Similar Occupations in the Same Category
Other roles in SOC major group 41 (sales) with comparable pay and career paths.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Sales Engineers make? ▼
What state pays Sales Engineers the most? ▼
What education do you need to become a Sales Engineers? ▼
How dangerous is being a Sales Engineers? ▼
Is Sales Engineers a good career? ▼
How does Sales Engineers pay vary by state? ▼
Which metro areas pay the most for Sales Engineers? ▼
What to do with this data
How to use Sales Engineers pay figures in a real decision
- For an experienced offer, anchor on the 75th percentile (about $161,230/year), not the median. The median marks the middle worker; the upper quartile is the realistic target with strong experience. Salary calculator
- Location moves pay significantly: Delaware leads at $167,200/year for this role. Weigh state pay against local cost of living before relocating or negotiating remote. Pay by state
- Compare this occupation against similar roles before you decide, so you are reading the pay band in context rather than in isolation. Compare jobs
These are BLS survey estimates for the occupation, not a salary offer or a prediction for any individual. Your pay depends on experience, employer, exact role, and location.
Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. This occupation's figures are computed directly from the BLS OEWS and Employment Projections datasets, nothing is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or career advice. Actual pay for a specific role, employer, or offer may differ from these national/state figures, consult a qualified career counselor, recruiter, or financial advisor before making decisions based on this data.