What does it cost to hire a retail sales supervisor in Milwaukee?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $50,390 median wage in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $10,078 to $15,117 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a retail sales supervisor in Milwaukee look like?

Employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area pay first-line supervisors of retail sales workers a median of $50,390, with the middle half of the market between $40,590 and $62,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $40,590 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Hiring a retail sales supervisor in Milwaukee, WI

Employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area pay first-line supervisors of retail sales workers a median of $50,390 a year, with the middle half of the market between $40,590 and $62,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 41-1011). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Milwaukee residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area pay?

Milwaukee residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $31,007 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $60,530 as the median of the 19 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 49%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole sales and related group, not this one role. In the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area the group covers 19 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from cashiers at $30,400 to real estate brokers at $168,320 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with first-line supervisors of retail sales workers at $50,390 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 19 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what Milwaukee residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does a retail sales supervisor earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to first-line supervisors of retail sales workers by employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 41-1011.
25th percentile	$40,590
Median	$50,390
75th percentile	$62,990

Half of first-line supervisors of retail sales workers in this area earn between $40,590 and $62,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $40,590 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 41-1011 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Milwaukee residents earn

$31,007

Median annual earnings of Milwaukee residents working in sales and related occupations, 18,611 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Provide customer service by greeting and assisting customers and responding to customer inquiries and complaints.
Direct and supervise employees engaged in sales, inventory-taking, reconciling cash receipts, or in performing services for customers.
Examine merchandise to ensure that it is correctly priced and displayed and that it functions as advertised.
Monitor sales activities to ensure that customers receive satisfactory service and quality goods.
Instruct staff on how to handle difficult and complicated sales.

Task statements for SOC 41-1011, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Office software, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Revit, Facebook, Google Analytics.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 41-1011 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Milwaukee?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma. O*NET OnLine, SOC 41-1011.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 26.6% of Milwaukee adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Milwaukee aged 25 and over.

The average Milwaukee commute runs 22.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 11.2% of Milwaukee workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Milwaukee.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Milwaukee County, retail trade employs 43,093 and turns over 12.0% a quarter, with 7,049 hires against 8,060 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $2,956 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 44-45.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about first-line supervisors of retail sales workers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $50,390 median in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $10,078 to $15,117 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a retail sales supervisor in Milwaukee

What does it cost to hire a retail sales supervisor in Milwaukee?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $50,390 median wage in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $10,078 to $15,117 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a retail sales supervisor in Milwaukee look like?: Employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area pay first-line supervisors of retail sales workers a median of $50,390, with the middle half of the market between $40,590 and $62,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $40,590 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Milwaukee residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area pay?: Milwaukee residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $31,007 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $60,530 as the median of the 19 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 49%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Milwaukee?: This is a job zone 2 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 26.6% of Milwaukee adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a retail sales supervisor somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other sales and related roles in Milwaukee

Milwaukee is the largest of 2 Wisconsin cities in this dataset.