Buyer Salary (2026)
Typical pay is $77,710 a year, with most buyers earning between $60,800 and $100,820. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Buyer
Nationally, the typical buyer earns $77,710 a year. Early-career pay starts around $60,800, experienced buyers earn $100,820 or more, and the top 10% make over $128,870. About 491,430 people work in this occupation in the US. Pay is highest in District of Columbia ($124,090) and, among metro areas, in Lexington Park, MD ($111,530).
Buyer salary in the United States
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What buyers do
Buyers and purchasing agents source materials, parts and services, negotiate prices and terms, and manage supplier relationships. BLS combines buyers and purchasing agents into one occupation, which is the one used here.
Buyer salary by state
Typical annual pay for buyers in every state where BLS publishes figures, highest first.
| State | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $124,090 | $93,040 | $144,680 |
| New Jersey | $93,250 | $75,030 | $116,430 |
| Maryland | $90,900 | $68,370 | $123,300 |
| Virginia | $89,210 | $65,100 | $120,390 |
| Rhode Island | $86,240 | $66,570 | $91,260 |
| Massachusetts | $85,970 | $66,400 | $115,230 |
| Washington | $85,130 | $68,820 | $108,240 |
| Colorado | $83,590 | $66,500 | $105,390 |
| Alaska | $83,460 | $66,750 | $106,870 |
| Connecticut | $83,030 | $65,350 | $102,890 |
| Delaware | $82,920 | $67,150 | $100,660 |
| California | $82,720 | $66,150 | $107,490 |
| Minnesota | $80,370 | $64,570 | $101,360 |
| New York | $79,460 | $64,560 | $102,100 |
| Illinois | $78,470 | $61,940 | $100,530 |
| Maine | $77,630 | $59,370 | $100,350 |
| New Hampshire | $77,270 | $61,760 | $98,600 |
| New Mexico | $76,740 | $59,980 | $103,400 |
| Ohio | $76,410 | $60,060 | $95,630 |
| North Dakota | $76,400 | $61,030 | $88,610 |
| Texas | $76,050 | $59,470 | $97,730 |
| Michigan | $75,900 | $59,450 | $98,950 |
| North Carolina | $75,880 | $60,000 | $97,550 |
| Arkansas | $75,870 | $54,400 | $106,110 |
| West Virginia | $75,670 | $57,830 | $94,520 |
| South Carolina | $75,550 | $58,430 | $98,230 |
| Arizona | $75,340 | $60,710 | $92,790 |
| Oregon | $75,050 | $56,600 | $98,110 |
| Nebraska | $74,950 | $59,990 | $92,480 |
| Utah | $74,540 | $58,830 | $96,570 |
| Georgia | $74,530 | $61,110 | $98,420 |
| Hawaii | $74,240 | $59,990 | $99,310 |
| Alabama | $74,030 | $57,340 | $98,580 |
| South Dakota | $73,990 | $62,760 | $90,740 |
| Pennsylvania | $73,550 | $56,340 | $95,960 |
| Nevada | $72,990 | $58,190 | $89,340 |
| Florida | $72,850 | $54,540 | $97,130 |
| Wyoming | $72,200 | $55,430 | $91,520 |
| Mississippi | $71,850 | $53,940 | $92,950 |
| Oklahoma | $71,850 | $56,060 | $95,330 |
| Wisconsin | $70,880 | $58,680 | $85,210 |
| Iowa | $70,360 | $58,310 | $82,480 |
| Kansas | $69,500 | $54,920 | $90,060 |
| Indiana | $69,350 | $56,340 | $85,870 |
| Idaho | $69,240 | $57,610 | $84,930 |
| Louisiana | $66,340 | $55,550 | $88,610 |
| Missouri | $65,650 | $55,480 | $85,180 |
| Tennessee | $65,430 | $49,530 | $82,600 |
| Vermont | $65,330 | $51,970 | $95,680 |
| Kentucky | $65,240 | $51,660 | $83,340 |
| Montana | $62,850 | $49,860 | $78,980 |
Highest-paying metro areas
| Metro area | Typical |
|---|---|
| 1. Lexington Park, MD | $111,530 |
| 2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $104,880 |
| 3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $101,500 |
| 4. Warner Robins, GA | $100,120 |
| 5. Peoria, IL | $96,880 |
| 6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $95,970 |
| 7. Huntsville, AL | $94,990 |
| 8. Kennewick-Richland, WA | $94,790 |
| 9. Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | $94,520 |
| 10. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $94,280 |
| 11. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $93,600 |
| 12. Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $93,060 |
| 13. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $93,010 |
| 14. Ogden, UT | $89,630 |
| 15. Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | $89,170 |
Pay in Apollo's markets
| Metro | Typical |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | $75,140 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $79,420 |
| Houston | $76,290 |
| Austin | $77,150 |
| Charlotte | $77,890 |
| Raleigh | $77,210 |
| San Antonio | $79,550 |
| Chicago | $78,510 |
| Orlando | $76,260 |
| Tampa | $74,220 |
| Miami | $71,270 |
| Jacksonville | $73,920 |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | $73,360 |
| Columbia, SC | $71,820 |
| Charleston, SC | $82,240 |
| Savannah | $76,570 |
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Buyer salary FAQs
How much does a buyer make in the US?
The typical (median) buyer in the US earns $77,710 a year, or about $37.36 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a buyer in the US?
Early-career buyers in the US typically earn around $60,800 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $48,380. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced buyers earn in the US?
Experienced buyers in the US earn $100,820 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $128,870.
Which state pays buyers the most?
District of Columbia has the highest typical pay for buyers at $124,090 a year. The highest-paying metro area is Lexington Park, MD at $111,530 (BLS, May 2025).
Are buyers in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 47,200 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring buyers?
Where these numbers come from
Pay figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (OEWS), which surveys about 1.1 million employer locations and is the government's main source of pay by occupation and location. This page uses the May 2025 survey, released in 2026, and updates itself when BLS publishes the next year's figures. Job outlook comes from the BLS Employment Projections for 2025–35. Cost of living comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024, where the US average is 100.
Pay is base wages and salary before tax. It does not include bonuses, overtime, benefits or equity. Early career is the 25th percentile (a quarter of workers earn less), Typical is the median and Experienced is the 75th percentile. The bar shows the full range from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The salary rank check estimates a percentile by drawing straight lines between those five published points.
BLS groups some job titles together. Controls engineers, for example, are counted with electrical engineers, and CAD designers with drafters. Each result names the BLS occupation it uses so you can see exactly what is being measured. BLS does not publish every occupation in every area, for example when too few people in a job were surveyed or when a figure does not meet its reliability standards. When a metro figure is missing, the calculator shows the state figure, or the national figure if the state is also missing, and says so.
BLS occupation used on this page: Buyers and Purchasing Agents (SOC 13-1020).