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Hiring a travel agent in Oakland, CA

Employers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area pay travel agents a median of $58,000, with the middle half of the market between $45,800 and $62,180. Oakland residents working in sales and related occupations report a median of $47,665, which is 18% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a travel agent earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile$45,800
Median$58,000
75th percentile$62,180

Half of travel agents in this area earn between $45,800 and $62,180. A band set below $45,800 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Oakland residents earn

$47,665

Median earnings of Oakland residents working in sales and related occupations, 18,792 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 18% 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 role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Oakland rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Collect payment for transportation and accommodations from customer.
  • Plan, describe, arrange, and sell itinerary tour packages and promotional travel incentives offered by various travel carriers.
  • Converse with customer to determine destination, mode of transportation, travel dates, financial considerations, and accommodations required.
  • Compute cost of travel and accommodations, using calculator, computer, carrier tariff books, and hotel rate books, or quote package tour's costs.
  • Record and maintain information on clients, vendors, and travel packages.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 41-3041.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Sabre Central Command, Zoom, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint.

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 Oakland?

This is a job zone three: medium preparation needed occupation. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 47.9% of Oakland adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Oakland commute runs 30.5 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 23.4% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Alameda County, retail trade employs 66,518 and turns over 9.7% a quarter, with 6,913 hires against 8,925 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $4,788 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 travel agents. 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 $11,600 to $17,400 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 travel agent somewhere else?

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

Other sales and related roles in Oakland

Related

Oakland is the 8th largest of 21 California cities in this dataset.