As of April 01, 2025, the average hourly pay of Retail Sales Associate in the United States is $17. While Salary.com is seeing that Retail Sales Associate salary in the US can go up to $20 or down to $15, but most earn between $16 and $19. Salary.com shows the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Retail Sales Associate in the United States.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $19 | $2 | $0 | $0 |
| Average | $17 | $1 | $0 | $0 |
| 25th Percentile | $16 | $1 | $0 | $0 |
As of April 01, 2025, Salary.com is seeing that an entry-level Retail Sales Associate with under 1 year experience makes about $34,069. With less than 2 years of experience, a mid-level Retail Sales Associate makes around $34,190. After 2-4 years, the Retail Sales Associate pay rises to about $34,512. Those senior Retail Sales Associate with 5-8 years of experience earn roughly $35,197, and those Retail Sales Associate having 8 years or more experience is expected to earn about $36,496 on average.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Retail Sales Associate | $34,069 |
| Intermediate Level Retail Sales Associate | $34,190 |
| Senior Level Retail Sales Associate | $34,512 |
| Specialist Level Retail Sales Associate | $35,197 |
| Expert Level Retail Sales Associate | $36,496 |
| Entry Level | 4% |
| Mid Level | 4% |
| Senior Level | 3% |
| Top Level | 1% |
| Experienced | 3% |
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from state to state due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Retail Sales Associate is $39,300 in California and in Massachusetts, the average annual salary goes to $38,800. While in New Jersey, a Retail Sales Associate earns $38,600 per year.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from city to city due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of April 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Retail Sales Associate in San Francisco, CA is $44,500 and in New York, NY, the average annual salary goes to $41,300. While a Retail Sales Associate earns $39,700 per year in Boston, MA.
For those exploring the changing dynamics of Retail Sales Associate salaries, Salary.com offers detailed insights through our Job Trending in CA Labor Market analysis. As of April 01, 2025, our research highlights a notable shift in Retail Sales Associate compensation over the past six years. For instance, the median salary has moved from $40,619 in 2023 to about $40,353 in 2024 (for a comprehensive analysis of Retail Sales Associate salary trends, click here). It's crucial to consider several elements, including geographical location, experience level, industry demand, and economic development, as they play a significant role in influencing salary variations.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Retail Sales Associate information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Retail Sales Associate job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Retail Sales Associate and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $35,600 | 64.5% | ||
| Bonus | $0 | 0.0% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $2,723 | 4.9% | ||
| 401K/403B | $1,495 | 2.7% | ||
| Disability | $712 | 1.3% | ||
| Healthcare | $8,352 | 15.1% | ||
| Pension | $1,922 | 3.5% | ||
| Time Off | $4,382 | 7.9% | ||
| Total Compensation | $55,187 | 100% | ||
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| No Diploma | 2.7% |
| High School | 44.1% |
| Associates | 15.8% |
| Bachelors | 34.0% |
| Masters | 3.2% |
| Doctorate | 0.2% |
What Am I Worth?
The Retail Sales Associate provides suggestions and product information based on customers' needs. Responsible for selling goods and assisting customers on the selling floor. Being a Retail Sales Associate may help with store opening and closing procedures. Maintains a thorough, up to date knowledge of products, sales and promotions. In addition, Retail Sales Associate typically requires a high school diploma or equivalent. Typically reports to a supervisor. Being a Retail Sales Associate works under moderate supervision. Gaining or has attained full proficiency in a specific area of discipline. Working as a Retail Sales Associate typically requires 1-3 years of related experience, or may need 0 years of experience with additional specialized training and/or certification.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Customer Service: Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. The perception of success of such interactions is dependent on employees "who can adjust themselves to the personality of the guest". Customer service concerns the priority an organization assigns to customer service relative to components such as product innovation and pricing. In this sense, an organization that values good customer service may spend more money in training employees than the average organization or may proactively interview customers for feedback. From the point of view of an overall sales process engineering effort, customer service plays an important role in an organization's ability to generate income and revenue. From that perspective, customer service should be included as part of an overall approach to systematic improvement. One good customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer holds towards the organization.
Customer Sales: Customer Sales means sales of Goods by Licensee directly or through its authorized wholesalers, representatives or distributors to retail establishments for eventual resale to the consumer.
Store Operations: Retail operations are the activities that allow online and physical stores to function. The aim of retail operations is to enhance the customer shopping experience and lower the retailer's costs.
