Hiring a parts salesperson in St. Paul, MN
Employers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area pay parts salespersons a median of $48,440 a year, with the middle half of the market between $37,820 and $59,050 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 41-2022). 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 St. Paul residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area pay?
St. Paul residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $29,906 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $50,100 as the median of the 20 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 40%, 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area the group covers 20 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from gambling change persons and booth cashiers at $33,740 to sales engineers at $102,790 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with parts salespersons at $48,440 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 20 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 St. Paul 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 parts salesperson earn here?
Place of work
What employers pay
| 25th percentile | $37,820 |
| Median | $48,440 |
| 75th percentile | $59,050 |
Half of parts salespersons in this area earn between $37,820 and $59,050 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $37,820 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 41-2022 at O*NET OnLine.
Place of residence
What St. Paul residents earn
$29,906
Median annual earnings of St. Paul residents working in sales and related occupations, 11,993 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
- Receive payment or obtain credit authorization.
- Assist customers, such as responding to customer complaints and updating them about back-ordered parts.
- Fill customer orders from stock, and place orders when requested items are out of stock.
- Receive and fill telephone orders for parts.
- Locate and label parts, and maintain inventory of stock.
Task statements for SOC 41-2022, O*NET OnLine 29.1.
Tools and technologies in demand
Inventory control system software, Inventory management systems, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word.
Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 41-2022 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.
Is the talent actually in St. Paul?
This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma. O*NET OnLine, SOC 41-2022.
It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 43.5% of St. Paul adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of St. Paul aged 25 and over.
The average St. Paul commute runs 22.3 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 18.3% of St. Paul 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 St. Paul.
How often do these jobs turn over?
In Ramsey County, retail trade employs 22,613 and turns over 10.9% a quarter, with 3,064 hires against 3,615 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $3,251 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 parts salespersons. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.
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 $48,440 median in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $9,688 to $14,532 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 parts salesperson in St. Paul
- What does it cost to hire a parts salesperson in St. Paul?
- 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 $48,440 median wage in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,688 to $14,532 on the first year salary alone.
- What should an offer for a parts salesperson in St. Paul look like?
- Employers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area pay parts salespersons a median of $48,440, with the middle half of the market between $37,820 and $59,050 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $37,820 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
- Do St. Paul residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area pay?
- St. Paul residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $29,906 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $50,100 as the median of the 20 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 40%. 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 St. Paul?
- This is a job zone 2 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 43.5% of St. Paul 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 parts salesperson somewhere else?
Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.
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Other sales and related roles in St. Paul
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Related
- Hiring Parts Salespersons: the role, the pay, the process
- Recruiting services in St. Paul
- Every Minnesota city we cover
St. Paul is the 2nd largest of 2 Minnesota cities in this dataset.