Hiring a retail salesperson in Houston, TX

Do Houston residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area pay?

Houston residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $35,317 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $49,250 as the median of the 19 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 28%, 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area the group covers 19 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from cashiers at $29,350 to sales engineers at $127,800 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with retail salespersons at $31,340 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 Houston residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

Is the talent actually in Houston?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma. O*NET OnLine, SOC 41-2031.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 36% of Houston adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Houston aged 25 and over.

The average Houston commute runs 27.3 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 11.7% of Houston 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 Houston.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Harris County, retail trade employs 237,276 and turns over 10.9% a quarter, with 33,809 hires against 39,109 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $3,570 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 retail 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 $31,340 median in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $6,268 to $9,402 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 salesperson in Houston

What does it cost to hire a retail salesperson in Houston?

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 $31,340 median wage in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $6,268 to $9,402 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a retail salesperson in Houston look like?

Employers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area pay retail salespersons a median of $31,340, with the middle half of the market between $28,000 and $36,820 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $28,000 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Do Houston residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area pay?

Houston residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $35,317 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $49,250 as the median of the 19 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 28%. 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 Houston?

This is a job zone 2 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 36% of Houston adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Related

• Hiring Retail Salespersons: the role, the pay, the process
• Recruiting services in Houston
• Every Texas city we cover

Houston is the largest of 17 Texas cities in this dataset.