Hiring a retail salesperson in Milwaukee, WI

Employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area pay retail salespersons a median of $34,410, with the middle half of the market between $29,200 and $37,330. Milwaukee residents working in sales and related occupations report a median of $31,007, which is 10% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a retail salesperson earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$29,200
Median	$34,410
75th percentile	$37,330

Half of retail salespersons in this area earn between $29,200 and $37,330. A band set below $29,200 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Milwaukee residents earn

$31,007

Median earnings of Milwaukee residents working in sales and related occupations, 18,611 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 10% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The two sit close together, so pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment.
Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental.
Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 41-2031.

Tools and technologies in demand

Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Apple macOS, Autodesk AutoCAD, Eclipse IDE.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. 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.

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.

The average Milwaukee commute runs 22.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 11.2% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

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 retail salespersons. 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 median would bill roughly $6,882 to $10,323 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.

Price this search

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

Hiring a retail salesperson 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.