Travel Agents Salary: $55,880 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 59,150 travel agents nationally earn a mean of $55,880. Projections imply about 3.6% annual decline; much hiring sits in administrative and support services.
Key Statistics
Travel Agents: what the data shows
Common questions about travel agents careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a travel agents?
Travel Agents is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 41-3041.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 59,150 workers.
What does a travel agents do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Working with Computers, Getting Information, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Processing Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a travel agents make?
BLS national median annual wage: $48,450 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $55,880 — 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 | $39,275 |
| 25th percentile | $46,790 |
| Median (50th) | $49,633 |
| 75th percentile | $63,120 |
| 90th percentile | $76,555 |
What education do you need?
For Travel 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 Service Orientation, Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Persuasion, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Sales and Marketing, Geography. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is travel agents in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.6% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -16.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -30.7%.
Current U.S. headcount: 59,150.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do travel agentss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 59,150 | 21.2% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 59,120 | 21.2% |
| Administrative and Support Services | 47,620 | 17.1% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 47,620 | 17.1% |
| Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services | 47,040 | 16.9% |
| Finance and Insurance | 1,910 | 0.7% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Travel Agents in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Travel Agents workforce.
Employment Over Time
59,150 Workforce in 2023
The Travel Agents workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Travel Agents.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$55,880 Average Wage
In 2023, Travel Agents earned an average of $55,880.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Travel Agents.
Salary distribution for Travel Agents.
Employment Growth Projections
-3.6% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
18,029 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -16.8%
15,007 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -30.7%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Travel Agents.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Travel Agents and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Travel Agents employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Travel Agents.
Wage Trends by Industry
-0.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Travel Agents.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Travel 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:
- FL: 9,730 employees, $49,710 avg wage
- CA: 5,780 employees, $54,650 avg wage
- WA: 4,030 employees, $60,640 avg wage
- TX: 3,840 employees, $53,310 avg wage
- NY: 3,100 employees, $56,050 avg wage
- IL: 2,990 employees, $52,600 avg wage
- GA: 2,240 employees, $48,080 avg wage
- AZ: 2,020 employees, $55,260 avg wage
- MA: 1,850 employees, $58,610 avg wage
- MO: 1,830 employees, $46,110 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Travel Agents.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 4,480 employees, $52,390 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 3,690 employees, $61,140 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 3,170 employees, $59,590 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 2,920 employees, $55,080 avg wage
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL: 2,580 employees, $44,830 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 2,570 employees, $53,930 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 1,600 employees, $48,460 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 1,550 employees, $58,530 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 1,530 employees, $56,180 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,120 employees, $57,420 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Travel Agents.
Diversity
Demographic information on Travel Agents in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Travel Agents in 2023 was 59,150 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Travel 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 Travel Agents.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Travel Agents.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Travel Agents in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Travel Agents.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Travel Agents workers.
Education level distribution for Travel Agents.
Skills
Travel Agents need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness.
Required skills for Travel Agents.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Travel Agents.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Travel Agents include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Sales and Marketing, Geography, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Travel Agents.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Travel Agents include Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression.
Required abilities for Travel Agents.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Travel Agents.
Daily Activities
Travel Agents spend their time on activities such as Working with Computers, Getting Information, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
Most important work activities for Travel Agents.
About
Travel Agents
The average yearly wage for Travel Agents was $55,880 in 2023.
SOC Code
41-3041 - Travel Agents
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Travel Agents reports an average salary of $55,880.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 59,150 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -3.6%, 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.