Sales Manager Salary: Your 2025 Guide

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

A sales manager is responsible for coordinating a sales team for a company or organization. Learn how much you can earn as a sales manager based on your education, experience, location, job title, and industry.

[Featured Image] A sales manager high fives a colleague during a team meeting with three other salespeople.

Sales managers can work in various industries, such as wholesale trade, retail, manufacturing, technology, or finance. In this position, you will monitor customer trends, coordinate a sales staff, and develop plans for your staff to sell products to businesses and consumers. Depending on the industry, sales manager positions have a positive projected growth rate, particularly as current sales managers retire or transfer to other jobs.

Explore the factors that can impact the salary of a sales manager, including location, education, and the industry you work in.

What is a sales manager?

A sales manager directs sales teams for organizations and businesses. Your responsibilities will vary, often based on the size of your organization, but you'll typically find yourself overseeing your employer's sales process from start to finish. Duties might include recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new employees and coaching your current staff on improving their sales techniques. 

You will need to be a skilled multitasker because you'll typically find yourself completing daily tasks, like running reports on current sales data, creating goals and quotas, and even selling products and services yourself. On another day, you might meet with the heads of other departments to ensure your goals align with theirs and the organizations or analyze customer feedback to determine what your team can do better. 

As a sales manager, you may work with a sales team to sell products to consumers or in business-to-business sales, where your business sells products individually or wholesale to other companies.

How much does a sales manager make?

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), sales managers make an average annual income of $135,160 [1]. 

Various job listing sites report differing average salary ranges. Explore the average salaries according to December 2024 data from five different organizations that track wages for sales managers to get a comprehensive look at the possibilities. 

BLS [1]U.S. News & World Report[2]Zippia [3]Glassdoor [4]Indeed [5]
$135,160$135,160$73,952$85,713$88,842

Factors that affect sales manager salary

Factors such as your experience in the field or your level of education may boost your potential earnings as a sales manager. Where you live may also impact your salary, including the demand for sales managers or the cost of living in a particular location. Depending on your specialties or interests, working in some industry sectors may earn you more income than others.

Commission

It’s important to factor in commissions when it comes to a position as a sales manager. Your education, experience, industry, and location may influence your salary, but you may also earn more in addition to your annual salary based on sales or other goals. For instance, Glassdoor reports a sales manager's average annual base salary as $85,713, but with extra pay, the annual salary rises to as much as $169,730 [4]. This compensation could come as a percentage of your sales, or your company may use another structure, like a territory volume commission, which considers your geographic region. 

Education

Sales managers usually need a bachelor’s degree, particularly in fields such as management, economics, finance, or marketing, among others. Even when a bachelor's degree is not a requirement, earning one may help you gain and sharpen your skills for the job.  Opportunities for workers with a high school diploma or associate degree may also be available for those wanting to move into a sales manager position.

Explore the average sales manager salaries based on education level, according to Zippia [3]:

  • Associate degree: $61,640

  • Bachelor's degree: $86,113

  • Master's degree: $100,247

Certification

Where you work may also determine whether you need to be certified as part of your job. Certifications could be necessary based on your industry, or you may require certification in certain products you sell. Examples of sales management-related certifications and their average annual salaries provided by Payscale include:

  • Associate in Risk Management (ARM): $94,000 [6]

  • Association of Proposal Management (APMP) certification: $92,000 [7]

  • Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA): $95,000 [8]

  • Certified Risk Manager (CRM): $107,000 [9]

  • Professional Risk Manager (PRM): $126,000 [10]

  • AMA Certified Professional in Management: $105,000 [11]

  • Project Management Professional (PMP): $118,000 [12]

Experience

Your previous experience as a sales manager can affect your salary, as more experience typically nets you a higher annual income. Discover the average base salaries you may earn based on your years of experience, according to Glassdoor [4]:

  • 0–1 year: $69,061 

  • 1–3 years: $75,814

  • 4–6 years: $81,046

  • 7–9 years: $86,055

  • 10–14 years: $96,059

  • 15 or more years: $106,520

Location

Your salary as a sales manager may vary based on where you live due to the demand for work in your area, the cost of living, and other regional factors. Explore the five top-paying states for sales managers based on data collected by BLS [13]:

  • New York: $246,790

  • Illinois: $156,870

  • California: $152,030

  • Florida: $150,040

  • Texas: $144,360

Some cities have higher earnings than others based on the cost of living or the number of sales manager positions. For instance, working in the New York City, Newark, and Jersey City areas may earn you a median annual wage of $239,440. In contrast, sales manager positions in the San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara areas earn an average of $214,590 in median yearly salaries [13].

Industry

Specific industries may offer more income for sales managers compared to others. Working in professional, scientific, or technical services may earn you a median annual income of $165,050. Sales managers in finance and insurance earn slightly less, with $164,990 in median annual income, according to the BLS [14]. 

Glassdoor lists the following five industries as some of the highest-paying for sales managers. Note that these figures only represent base pay and may not include additional compensation, such as stocks, commissions, or bonuses [4].

  • Information technology: $233,098

  • Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology: $210,749

  • Financial services: $180,920

  • Energy, mining, and utilities: $155,858

  • Legal: $160,573

Other positions in the sales field may help you gain additional experience as a sales manager. Additionally, they may help you find a job that fits your interests more than a sales manager role.

Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives

Average annual US salary (BLS): $73,080 [15]

Requirements: You may work as a sales rep with a high school diploma, though a bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a related field may help you gain more skills and get better jobs. 

A sales representative sells products to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact new and existing customers about their products, answer customer questions, and negotiate prices. 

Marketing manager

Average annual US salary (BLS): $166,410 [16]

Requirements: You typically need a bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business, or a related field, though some employers may require a relevant master's degree. 

A marketing manager is responsible for generating interest in products. You may create budgets for advertising and marketing plans, develop ideas for generating product interest, or plan advertising and promotional campaigns. 

Job outlook

The BLS expects sales manager positions to grow 6 percent from 2023 to 2033, a rate on par with the national average for all occupations. Organizations and industries are expected to add 48,600 positions to the field during the decade leading up to 2032 [17]. Sales manager positions will continue to grow as workers leave the profession for other positions or retire. Companies also need sales managers to create strategies that will help them grow.

Support a strong sales manager salary by building skills on Coursera.

Sales managers have a positive job outlook and often earn a competitive salary. While educational requirements will vary by employer, honing your skills and learning as much as possible about the field is a great way to land a position as a sales manager or succeed in your current role. 

The University of Michigan offers Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills on Coursera, which can help you learn how to prepare, negotiate, and close deals. You may also strengthen your skills through the Sales Training for High Performing Teams Specialization from Hubspot. The program aims to help you build your sales career and learn more about sales team management.

Article sources

1

US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Sales Managers, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/sales-managers.htm#tab-1.” Accessed January 27, 2025. 

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