Merchandising Manager Salary
- As of May 2010, the national median yearly salary was around $100,000 for merchandising managers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This national average used a median hourly wage of about $48 per hour. According to PayScale, merchandising managers can also earn money through company bonuses, profit sharing and sales commissions. For example, merchandising managers in the U.S. earned between $405 and $24,000 in bonuses, between $412 and $7,000 per year in profit sharing, and between $600 and $25,000 in commissions per year.
- Merchandising managers who work in certain parts of the U.S. can earn more than their counterparts in other areas. For example, according to the BLS, the average mean wage for these types of managers was $108,000 in California and Texas. However, the top-paying state was New Jersey, at an annual mean wage of almost $128,000 per year. The District of Colombia came in a close second at an average median salary of near $123,000. Other top-paying states included New York at $115,000 a year, Colorado at $113,500 per year and Delaware at almost $111,000 per year.
- These specialized purchasing managers can work in a wide variety of work settings and industries -- and some pay better than others. As of May 2010, the highest-paying industry for merchandising managers was apparel, piece goods and notions merchant wholesalers. Merchandise managers working in this industry earned an annual mean wage of $140,080, according to the BLS. The next highest-paying industry was professional, scientific and technical services, with a national median salary of around $134,000. Other top-paying industries included the postal service, oil and gas extraction, and telecommunications.
- If you are considering pursuing employment in this field, you have several career paths to choose from. Some industries hire more merchandising managers than others. As of May 2010, the industries with the highest levels of employment for merchandising managers included company and enterprise management, the federal executive branch and aerospace product and parts manufacturing. The median wage for management companies was $116,000 per year, the mean average salary for the federal executive branch was around $123,000 per year, and the mean wage for the aerospace industry positions was around $105,000 per year.
