Telemarketers Salary: $41,892 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 66,430 telemarketers nationally earn a mean of $41,892. Employment in the series shown fell about 33% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 12.9% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Telemarketers: what the data shows
Common questions about telemarketers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a telemarketers?
Telemarketers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 41-9041.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 66,430 workers.
What does a telemarketers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Selling or Influencing Others, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Processing Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a telemarketers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $34,410 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $41,892 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $34,745 |
| 25th percentile | $36,463 |
| Median (50th) | $38,293 |
| 75th percentile | $45,532 |
| 90th percentile | $51,238 |
What education do you need?
For Telemarketers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Persuasion, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Reading Comprehension, and knowledge areas including Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is telemarketers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 12.9% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -50.0%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -75.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 66,430.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do telemarketerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 66,430 | 20.1% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 66,320 | 20.1% |
| Administrative and Support Services | 47,930 | 14.5% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 47,930 | 14.5% |
| Business Support Services | 46,430 | 14.1% |
| Finance and Insurance | 4,430 | 1.3% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Telemarketers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | 156,260 | $51,500 |
| Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers | 12,460 | $65,480 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Signal and Track Switch Repairers | 8,210 | $83,600 |
| Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 31,510 | $41,600 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 75,710 | $155,020 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | 16,600 | $71,410 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Telemarketers workforce.
Employment Over Time
66,430 Workforce in 2023
The Telemarketers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Telemarketers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$41,892 Average Wage
In 2023, Telemarketers earned an average of $41,892.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Telemarketers.
Salary distribution for Telemarketers.
Employment Growth Projections
-12.9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
6,200 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -50.0%
3,100 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -75.0%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Telemarketers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Telemarketers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Telemarketers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Telemarketers.
Wage Trends by Industry
-11.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Telemarketers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Telemarketers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 6,930 employees, $35,060 avg wage
- VA: 6,880 employees, $39,710 avg wage
- FL: 6,510 employees, $36,990 avg wage
- CA: 3,480 employees, $40,970 avg wage
- OH: 3,040 employees, $31,170 avg wage
- MO: 2,840 employees, $33,300 avg wage
- NV: 2,820 employees, $35,990 avg wage
- GA: 2,580 employees, $31,180 avg wage
- TN: 2,380 employees, $28,220 avg wage
- NY: 2,180 employees, $41,440 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Telemarketers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV: 2,430 employees, $34,700 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,860 employees, $36,870 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 1,700 employees, $35,460 avg wage
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC: 1,690 employees, $41,950 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 1,590 employees, $38,080 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 1,540 employees, $41,100 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,530 employees, $40,280 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 1,360 employees, $52,310 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 1,280 employees, $39,570 avg wage
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX: 1,220 employees, $34,490 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Telemarketers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Telemarketers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Telemarketers in 2023 was 66,430 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Telemarketers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Telemarketers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Telemarketers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Telemarketers in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Telemarketers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Telemarketers workers.
Education level distribution for Telemarketers.
Skills
Telemarketers need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Persuasion, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness.
Required skills for Telemarketers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Telemarketers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Telemarketers include Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Telemarketers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Telemarketers include Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speech Clarity, Speech Recognition, Written Comprehension.
Required abilities for Telemarketers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Telemarketers.
Daily Activities
Telemarketers spend their time on activities such as Selling or Influencing Others, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge.
Most important work activities for Telemarketers.
About
Telemarketers
The average yearly wage for Telemarketers was $41,892 in 2023.
SOC Code
41-9041 - Telemarketers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Telemarketers reports an average salary of $41,892.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 66,430 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -12.9%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.