High paying sales jobs in California with no experience

The best paid sales occupations in California that require neither a degree nor prior experience in a related job. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

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 Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$80,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,240 – $168,720156,110
2Advertising Sales Agents$80,360
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,260 – $157,1309,620
3Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products$76,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,200 – $152,760134,800
4Insurance Sales Agents$76,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,560 – $165,43041,160
5Real Estate Sales Agents$57,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,150 – $111,32017,500
6Sales and Related Workers, All Other$52,810
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,280 – $105,46028,480
7Demonstrators and Product Promoters$46,220
No formal educational credential
$36,280 – $74,71018,140
8Counter and Rental Clerks$45,010
No formal educational credential
$35,790 – $69,80067,770
9Parts Salespersons$44,440
No formal educational credential
$36,320 – $72,83026,990
10Retail Salespersons$38,440
No formal educational credential
$35,240 – $54,310376,460
11Cashiers$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 Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and TravelHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,850	$43,240 – $168,720	156,110
2	Advertising Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,360	$42,260 – $157,130	9,620
3	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific ProductsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,490	$43,200 – $152,760	134,800
4	Insurance Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,120	$38,560 – $165,430	41,160
5	Real Estate Sales AgentsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,560	$40,150 – $111,320	17,500
6	Sales and Related Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,810	$37,280 – $105,460	28,480
7	Demonstrators and Product PromotersNo formal educational credential	$46,220	$36,280 – $74,710	18,140
8	Counter and Rental ClerksNo formal educational credential	$45,010	$35,790 – $69,800	67,770
9	Parts SalespersonsNo formal educational credential	$44,440	$36,320 – $72,830	26,990
10	Retail SalespersonsNo formal educational credential	$38,440	$35,240 – $54,310	376,460
11	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 with no experience

More for California

Metro areas in California

By field in California

Without a degree

High paying sales jobs in each state with no experience