Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Rep Salary: National and State-by-State
Technical and scientific wholesale and manufacturing sales reps earn a median of $104,920 nationally, and this field produces more yearly openings than any other sales occupation the BLS tracks.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual wage for sales reps selling technical and scientific wholesale and manufacturing products at $104,920 nationally, the second-highest median of any sales occupation covered on this site. Salaries range roughly from $42,820 to $171,700 depending on tenure and the specific industry sold into.
Pay varies more by industry than by state
Unlike several occupations on this list, the clearest pay signal in this field comes from which industry you're selling into rather than which state you're in. Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing pays a mean of $135,580 annually, business schools and computer/management training pays $133,540, and securities and financial investment-related sales pays $126,340, all well above the field's overall median. If you're choosing between two offers in this occupation, the industry behind the offer matters more than the state it's based in.
Pay by state
State still moves the number, even if industry moves it more. New Jersey, Colorado, and Kansas lead on annual mean wage, per the BLS's May 2025 state-level estimates.
| State | Annual Mean Wage | Annual Median Wage |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $142,790 | $131,360 |
| Colorado | $140,020 | $135,000 |
| Kansas | $135,820 | $130,850 |
| New York | $134,010 | $129,410 |
| Washington | $133,370 | $127,390 |
| Oregon | $132,750 | $113,830 |
| Virginia | $130,470 | $128,270 |
| North Carolina | $129,440 | $125,370 |
| Hawaii | $129,270 | $126,110 |
| California | $129,250 | $124,220 |
| Georgia | $127,000 | $128,850 |
| Michigan | $126,190 | $125,650 |
| Rhode Island | $125,800 | $117,670 |
| Louisiana | $124,500 | $124,200 |
| South Carolina | $121,990 | $111,190 |
| Massachusetts | $121,440 | $118,980 |
| Indiana | $118,450 | $102,910 |
| Pennsylvania | $118,060 | $103,790 |
| Florida | $117,380 | $107,700 |
| Illinois | $117,270 | $107,570 |
| Minnesota | $117,270 | $103,000 |
| Idaho | $116,310 | $101,390 |
| Ohio | $115,820 | $108,370 |
| Texas | $115,570 | $99,080 |
| Connecticut | $114,060 | $98,000 |
| Kentucky | $113,930 | $97,640 |
| Vermont | $113,590 | $95,900 |
| Arizona | $112,670 | $100,620 |
| New Hampshire | $110,980 | $97,960 |
| North Dakota | $110,240 | $102,720 |
| Iowa | $110,130 | $103,380 |
| Tennessee | $109,810 | $94,450 |
| Delaware | $108,940 | $107,830 |
| New Mexico | $108,780 | $87,310 |
| Maryland | $107,990 | $95,040 |
| Missouri | $105,490 | $94,840 |
| Nevada | $104,290 | $98,500 |
| Montana | $103,900 | $83,610 |
| West Virginia | $103,530 | $97,230 |
| Wyoming | $103,140 | $100,850 |
| District of Columbia | $103,000 | $92,940 |
| Maine | $97,720 | $101,850 |
| Alabama | $96,010 | $87,140 |
| Alaska | $94,700 | $77,080 |
| Wisconsin | $91,920 | $78,480 |
| Nebraska | $91,140 | $84,400 |
| Arkansas | $89,960 | $71,830 |
| Oklahoma | $87,730 | $72,480 |
| Mississippi | $78,060 | $74,990 |
South Dakota and Utah: sample size too small for the BLS to publish a reliable state-level estimate for this occupation.
What this role requires
If the products are scientific or technical, which this occupation specifically covers, a bachelor's degree is typically expected. Overall employment is projected to show little to no change from 2025 to 2035, but about 123,400 openings a year get created through replacement demand, more yearly openings than any other sales occupation covered here, despite the flat growth.
Why flat growth still means the most opportunity on this list
This is the clearest example of a pattern worth remembering across every sales field: growth rate and opportunity aren't the same thing. A field can be flat and still be the easiest to break into, because turnover alone creates more openings here than anywhere else on this list. Once you're in, the actual determinant of where you land in that $42K-to-$172K range is the same as everywhere else: how you handle a technical buyer's skepticism and close the call with a real next step. Daily practice on those specific conversations is what moves you toward the top of that range.
Selling in Canada
This page covers US state-level BLS data. If you're selling in Canada, government wage data for this occupation is broken out by city on this site too: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa.