Buyers and Purchasing Agents Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 13-1020 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$77,709
$37.36/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is $77,709 per year ($37.36/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $60,798 and $100,818 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $128,877 per year. There are approximately 491,430 buyers and purchasing agents employed in the United States.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+5.8%
Faster than average
Annual openings
52K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
522K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
6% from new growth94% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
17K
$80,200
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing
NAICS 336400
14K
$97,890
Wage range across top 5 industries: $67,970 to $108,220 (59% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$23.26
$48,381
P25
$29.23
$60,798
P50MEDIAN
$37.36
$77,709
P75
$48.47
$100,818
P90
$61.96
$128,877
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · finance sector
Hot
Openings Rate
6.0%
Quits Rate
1.2%
Finance and Insurance openings surged to 428K (+98K) in March, pushing the openings rate to 6.0% -- the highest in any major sector. Quits ticked up to 1.2%. Demand for finance talent has reaccelerated sharply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average buyers and purchasing agents salary?
The national median salary for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is $77,709 per year ($37.36/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $60,798 and $100,818 annually.
How much do top-earning buyers and purchasing agents make?
The 90th percentile salary for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is $128,877 per year ($61.96/hr). The 75th percentile is $100,818 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for buyers and purchasing agents?
Entry-level Buyers and Purchasing Agents (10th percentile) earn approximately $48,381 per year ($23.26/hr). The 25th percentile is $60,798 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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