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Hiring a telemarketer in St. Petersburg, FL

Employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area pay telemarketers a median of $33,900, with the middle half of the market between $27,240 and $36,220. St. Petersburg residents working in sales and related occupations report a median of $45,662, which is 35% above what the metro pays for this role.

What does a telemarketer earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile$27,240
Median$33,900
75th percentile$36,220

Half of telemarketers in this area earn between $27,240 and $36,220. A band set below $27,240 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What St. Petersburg residents earn

$45,662

Median earnings of St. Petersburg residents working in sales and related occupations, 14,686 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 35% 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.

Residents here already earn more than this role pays, so your offer is competing with whatever they currently commute to.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.
  • Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
  • Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.
  • Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
  • Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 41-9041.

Tools and technologies in demand

Customer relationship management CRM software, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Zoom.

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 St. Petersburg?

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, 41.3% of St. Petersburg adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average St. Petersburg commute runs 25.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 18.3% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Pinellas County, retail trade employs 52,609 and turns over 9.8% a quarter, with 7,415 hires against 8,130 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $3,340 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 telemarketers. 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 median would bill roughly $6,780 to $10,170 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 telemarketer somewhere else?

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

Other sales and related roles in St. Petersburg

Related

St. Petersburg is the 6th largest of 9 Florida cities in this dataset.