High paying sales jobs in California

Every sales occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in California. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single sales job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in California run 10.7% above the national average (2024), so a California salary is worth about 0.90× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in California.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find sales jobs in California

OccupationMedian, California · Employed

1Sales Engineers$139,160
Bachelor's degree
$78,850 – $213,3706,310
2Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products$124,220
Bachelor's degree
$58,820 – $214,04027,590
3First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers$81,140
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,200 – $155,15019,600
4Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$80,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,240 – $168,720156,110
5Real Estate Brokers$80,450
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,120 – $145,6608,430
6Advertising Sales Agents$80,360
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,260 – $157,1309,620
7Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents$79,730
Bachelor's degree
$50,520 – $197,20055,860
8Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products$76,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,200 – $152,760134,800
9Insurance Sales Agents$76,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,560 – $165,43041,160
10Real Estate Sales Agents$57,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,150 – $111,32017,500
11First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers$54,870
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,860 – $77,590109,180
12Sales and Related Workers, All Other$52,810
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,280 – $105,46028,480
13Demonstrators and Product Promoters$46,220
No formal educational credential
$36,280 – $74,71018,140
14Counter and Rental Clerks$45,010
No formal educational credential
$35,790 – $69,80067,770
15Parts Salespersons$44,440
No formal educational credential
$36,320 – $72,83026,990
16Retail Salespersons$38,440
No formal educational credential
$35,240 – $54,310376,460
17Cashiers$37,100
No formal educational credential
$34,760 – $48,950336,110

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianCalifornia	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Sales EngineersBachelor's degree	$139,160	$78,850 – $213,370	6,310
2	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific ProductsBachelor's degree	$124,220	$58,820 – $214,040	27,590
3	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$81,140	$51,200 – $155,150	19,600
4	Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and TravelHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,850	$43,240 – $168,720	156,110
5	Real Estate BrokersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,450	$37,120 – $145,660	8,430
6	Advertising Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,360	$42,260 – $157,130	9,620
7	Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales AgentsBachelor's degree	$79,730	$50,520 – $197,200	55,860
8	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific ProductsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,490	$43,200 – $152,760	134,800
9	Insurance Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,120	$38,560 – $165,430	41,160
10	Real Estate Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,560	$40,150 – $111,320	17,500
11	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$54,870	$38,860 – $77,590	109,180
12	Sales and Related Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,810	$37,280 – $105,460	28,480
13	Demonstrators and Product PromotersNo formal educational credential	$46,220	$36,280 – $74,710	18,140
14	Counter and Rental ClerksNo formal educational credential	$45,010	$35,790 – $69,800	67,770
15	Parts SalespersonsNo formal educational credential	$44,440	$36,320 – $72,830	26,990
16	Retail SalespersonsNo formal educational credential	$38,440	$35,240 – $54,310	376,460
17	CashiersNo formal educational credential	$37,100	$34,760 – $48,950	336,110

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in California. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for California

Metro areas in California

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in California

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in California to rank honestly.

High paying sales jobs in California

More for California

Metro areas in California

By field in California

Without a degree

High paying sales jobs in each state