High paying sales jobs in Illinois

Every sales occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Illinois. 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 Illinois run 0.0% below the national average (2024), so a Illinois salary is worth about 1.00× 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 Illinois.

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

Find sales jobs in Illinois

OccupationMedian, Illinois · Employed

1Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products$107,570
Bachelor's degree
$52,920 – $180,3607,350
2Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents$99,840
Bachelor's degree
$50,330 – $209,84027,920
3First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers$88,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$51,150 – $162,4905,280
4Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products$73,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,130 – $134,03051,310
5Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$66,900
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,530 – $154,07069,910
6Advertising Sales Agents$66,290
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $142,8703,790
7Insurance Sales Agents$64,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,020 – $160,13016,360
8Real Estate Sales Agents$59,220
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,830 – $79,7506,030
9Travel Agents$49,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,200 – $77,6302,120
10First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers$47,990
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,360 – $77,55036,940
11Parts Salespersons$42,240
No formal educational credential
$31,410 – $67,1908,500
12Counter and Rental Clerks$38,140
No formal educational credential
$31,870 – $63,5008,440
13Demonstrators and Product Promoters$36,550
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $70,5802,890
14Retail Salespersons$35,370
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $48,010126,610
15Cashiers$34,490
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $38,480139,630

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

#	Occupation	MedianIllinois	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific ProductsBachelor's degree	$107,570	$52,920 – $180,360	7,350
2	Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales AgentsBachelor's degree	$99,840	$50,330 – $209,840	27,920
3	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$88,820	$51,150 – $162,490	5,280
4	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific ProductsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,510	$44,130 – $134,030	51,310
5	Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and TravelHigh school diploma or equivalent	$66,900	$38,530 – $154,070	69,910
6	Advertising Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$66,290	$31,200 – $142,870	3,790
7	Insurance Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,280	$37,020 – $160,130	16,360
8	Real Estate Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,220	$35,830 – $79,750	6,030
9	Travel AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,090	$37,200 – $77,630	2,120
10	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,990	$35,360 – $77,550	36,940
11	Parts SalespersonsNo formal educational credential	$42,240	$31,410 – $67,190	8,500
12	Counter and Rental ClerksNo formal educational credential	$38,140	$31,870 – $63,500	8,440
13	Demonstrators and Product PromotersNo formal educational credential	$36,550	$31,200 – $70,580	2,890
14	Retail SalespersonsNo formal educational credential	$35,370	$31,200 – $48,010	126,610
15	CashiersNo formal educational credential	$34,490	$31,200 – $38,480	139,630

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Illinois. 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 Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois

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

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

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

High paying sales jobs in Illinois

More for Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

High paying sales jobs in each state