Advertising Sales Agents Salary: $76,954 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 97,470 advertising sales agents nationally earn a mean of $76,954. Projections imply about 3.8% annual decline; much hiring sits in professional, scientific, and technical services.
Key Statistics
Advertising Sales Agents: what the data shows
Common questions about advertising sales agents careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a advertising sales agents?
Advertising Sales Agents is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 41-3011.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 97,470 workers.
What does a advertising sales agents do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Selling or Influencing Others, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Thinking Creatively, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Getting Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a advertising sales agents make?
BLS national median annual wage: $61,460 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $76,954 — 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 | $37,025 |
| 25th percentile | $48,242 |
| Median (50th) | $61,831 |
| 75th percentile | $97,128 |
| 90th percentile | $130,125 |
What education do you need?
For Advertising Sales Agents, 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, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening, Negotiation, and knowledge areas including Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Communications and Media. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is advertising sales agents in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.8% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -17.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -32.4%.
Current U.S. headcount: 97,470.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do advertising sales agentss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 97,470 | 19.8% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 97,320 | 19.7% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 50,720 | 10.3% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 50,720 | 10.3% |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services | 46,720 | 9.5% |
| Information | 40,940 | 8.3% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Advertising Sales Agents in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Advertising Sales Agents workforce.
Employment Over Time
97,470 Workforce in 2023
The Advertising Sales Agents workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Advertising Sales Agents.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$76,954 Average Wage
In 2023, Advertising Sales Agents earned an average of $76,954.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Advertising Sales Agents.
Salary distribution for Advertising Sales Agents.
Employment Growth Projections
-3.8% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
26,912 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -17.8%
22,122 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -32.4%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Advertising Sales Agents.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Advertising Sales Agents and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Advertising Sales Agents employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Advertising Sales Agents.
Wage Trends by Industry
-3.5% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Advertising Sales Agents.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Advertising Sales Agents.
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:
- NY: 16,190 employees, $111,800 avg wage
- CA: 8,910 employees, $75,260 avg wage
- FL: 5,690 employees, $69,280 avg wage
- IL: 5,330 employees, $77,960 avg wage
- PA: 4,000 employees, $56,690 avg wage
- WA: 3,130 employees, $93,270 avg wage
- OH: 2,950 employees, $62,610 avg wage
- GA: 2,860 employees, $54,210 avg wage
- MI: 2,790 employees, $80,150 avg wage
- NJ: 2,640 employees, $83,770 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Advertising Sales Agents.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 15,730 employees, $113,120 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 4,210 employees, $80,790 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 3,930 employees, $77,490 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 2,520 employees, $60,010 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 2,460 employees, $101,060 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 1,900 employees, $58,140 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 1,880 employees, $74,120 avg wage
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 1,430 employees, $81,680 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 1,380 employees, $76,410 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 1,380 employees, $66,680 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Advertising Sales Agents.
Diversity
Demographic information on Advertising Sales Agents in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Advertising Sales Agents in 2023 was 97,470 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Advertising Sales Agents.
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 Advertising Sales Agents.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Advertising Sales Agents.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Advertising Sales Agents in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Marketing.
Common majors for Advertising Sales Agents.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Advertising Sales Agents workers.
Education level distribution for Advertising Sales Agents.
Skills
Advertising Sales Agents need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Persuasion, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening.
Required skills for Advertising Sales Agents.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Advertising Sales Agents.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Advertising Sales Agents include Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Communications and Media, Mathematics.
Knowledge areas required for Advertising Sales Agents.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Advertising Sales Agents include Oral Expression, Speech Clarity, Speech Recognition, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension.
Required abilities for Advertising Sales Agents.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Advertising Sales Agents.
Daily Activities
Advertising Sales Agents spend their time on activities such as Selling or Influencing Others, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Thinking Creatively, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public.
Most important work activities for Advertising Sales Agents.
About
Advertising Sales Agents
The average yearly wage for Advertising Sales Agents was $76,954 in 2023.
SOC Code
41-3011 - Advertising Sales Agents
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Advertising Sales Agents reports an average salary of $76,954.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 97,470 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -3.8%, 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.