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Retail Salesperson

$34,580
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Help customers find products, answer questions, ring up sales, and keep the sales floor stocked and tidy.

Where you work

Stores of every size and type

The hours

Shifts including evenings, weekends, holidays

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$34,580
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~555,800
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
0%
Little change
Working in the U.S.
3,936,700
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

No formal credential

Training path: On-the-job training, paid from day one.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

Customer serviceProduct knowledgeCommunicationPatience

The honest take

One of the easiest jobs to land anywhere, and a place to build customer skills that transfer widely.

Standard Occupational Classification 41-2031. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.