Sales Engineers Salary: $146,137 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 56,690 sales engineers nationally earn a mean of $146,137. Employment in the series shown fell about 22% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 7.1% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Sales Engineers: what the data shows
Common questions about sales engineers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a sales engineers?
Sales Engineers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 41-9031.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 56,690 workers.
What does a sales engineers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Getting Information, Selling or Influencing Others, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Working with Computers, Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a sales engineers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $121,520 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $146,137 — 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 | $81,392 |
| 25th percentile | $102,650 |
| Median (50th) | $138,029 |
| 75th percentile | $177,549 |
| 90th percentile | $216,251 |
What education do you need?
For Sales Engineers, 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, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Sales and Marketing, Engineering and Technology, English Language. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is sales engineers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 7.1% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -30.9%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -52.2%.
Current U.S. headcount: 56,690.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do sales engineerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 56,690 | 20.0% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 56,640 | 20.0% |
| Wholesale Trade | 15,430 | 5.5% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 15,240 | 5.4% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 15,240 | 5.4% |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 11,610 | 4.1% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Sales Engineers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Sales Engineers workforce.
Employment Over Time
56,690 Workforce in 2023
The Sales Engineers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Sales Engineers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$146,137 Average Wage
In 2023, Sales Engineers earned an average of $146,137.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Sales Engineers.
Salary distribution for Sales Engineers.
Employment Growth Projections
-7.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
17,967 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -30.9%
12,417 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -52.2%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Sales Engineers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Sales Engineers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Sales Engineers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Sales Engineers.
Wage Trends by Industry
-1.5% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Sales Engineers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Sales Engineers.
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: 8,870 employees, $126,870 avg wage
- CA: 6,980 employees, $142,920 avg wage
- MA: 3,180 employees, N/A avg wage
- NY: 2,970 employees, $149,080 avg wage
- CO: 2,720 employees, $147,270 avg wage
- PA: 2,550 employees, $109,130 avg wage
- MI: 2,540 employees, $113,280 avg wage
- FL: 2,320 employees, $151,380 avg wage
- NC: 2,170 employees, $116,830 avg wage
- NJ: 1,960 employees, $144,290 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Sales Engineers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 4,490 employees, $126,260 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 3,390 employees, $155,460 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 2,050 employees, $143,760 avg wage
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: 1,900 employees, $140,610 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,690 employees, $119,670 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: 1,640 employees, $169,250 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 1,490 employees, $123,550 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 1,430 employees, $155,800 avg wage
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 1,380 employees, $115,430 avg wage
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 1,200 employees, $139,900 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Sales Engineers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Sales Engineers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Sales Engineers in 2023 was 56,690 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Sales Engineers.
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 Sales Engineers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Sales Engineers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Sales Engineers in 2023 were Business Administration, Engineering, Mathematics.
Common majors for Sales Engineers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Sales Engineers workers.
Education level distribution for Sales Engineers.
Skills
Sales Engineers need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Persuasion, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, Reading Comprehension.
Required skills for Sales Engineers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Sales Engineers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Sales Engineers include Customer and Personal Service, Sales and Marketing, Engineering and Technology, English Language, Mathematics.
Knowledge areas required for Sales Engineers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Sales Engineers include Speech Clarity, Oral Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Written Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Sales Engineers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Sales Engineers.
Daily Activities
Sales Engineers spend their time on activities such as Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Getting Information, Selling or Influencing Others, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Working with Computers.
Most important work activities for Sales Engineers.
About
Sales Engineers
The average yearly wage for Sales Engineers was $146,137 in 2023.
SOC Code
41-9031 - Sales Engineers
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Sales Engineers reports an average salary of $146,137, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 56,690 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -7.1%, 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.