Retail Salespersons Salary
Retail Salespersons in St. Louis, MO-IL make a median of $33,820 a year, or about $16.26 an hour. The range runs from $30K at the entry level to $47K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $35,566 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,218/month, about 52.8% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $34K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About retail salespersons
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What this looks like in St. Louis
Retail salespersons pay in St. Louis tracks closely to the national median, $34K locally vs. $35K nationwide, a 4% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,218/month, which is 51.5% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for retail salespersons in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $34K | $37K |
| Springfield | $32K | $36K |
| Columbia | $31K | $35K |
| Joplin | $31K | $36K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level retail salespersons (10th percentile) start around $30K. Mid-career wages sit at $34K. Top earners bring in $47K or more, a $18K spread from bottom to top.
Retail Salespersons pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Retail Salespersons salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $40K | +12% | 84,850 |
| District of Columbia | $39K | +9% | 4,660 |
| California | $38K | +9% | 376,460 |
| Colorado | $38K | +7% | 76,660 |
| Hawaii | $38K | +7% | 19,180 |
| New York | $38K | +7% | 238,540 |
| Vermont | $37K | +6% | 8,250 |
| Alaska | $37K | +5% | 7,890 |
| Oregon | $37K | +4% | 48,090 |
| Maine | $37K | +3% | 18,450 |
| Massachusetts | $37K | +3% | 86,860 |
| New Jersey | $37K | +3% | 72,530 |
| Connecticut | $36K | +3% | 42,410 |
| Minnesota | $36K | +3% | 74,840 |
| Montana | $36K | +2% | 13,490 |
| New Hampshire | $36K | +2% | 23,880 |
| North Dakota | $36K | +2% | 11,320 |
| Arizona | $36K | +1% | 93,920 |
| Maryland | $36K | +0% | 79,320 |
| Illinois | $35K | -0% | 126,610 |
| Delaware | $35K | -0% | 13,400 |
| Idaho | $35K | -1% | 20,180 |
| Rhode Island | $35K | -2% | 12,830 |
| Michigan | $35K | -2% | 111,010 |
| Wisconsin | $34K | -3% | 67,640 |
| South Dakota | $34K | -3% | 14,180 |
| Wyoming | $34K | -3% | 8,770 |
| Virginia | $34K | -3% | 100,290 |
| Nevada | $34K | -3% | 43,920 |
| Florida | $34K | -4% | 333,460 |
| Utah | $34K | -4% | 47,570 |
| Missouri | $33K | -6% | 67,140 |
| New Mexico | $33K | -6% | 23,800 |
| Kansas | $32K | -9% | 33,360 |
| Tennessee | $32K | -10% | 87,380 |
| Nebraska | $32K | -10% | 22,780 |
| Indiana | $32K | -11% | 83,670 |
| North Carolina | $31K | -11% | 127,540 |
| Iowa | $31K | -11% | 41,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $31K | -12% | 141,790 |
| Georgia | $31K | -13% | 143,120 |
| Ohio | $31K | -13% | 137,370 |
| Texas | $31K | -13% | 341,640 |
| South Carolina | $31K | -13% | 67,310 |
| Alabama | $30K | -15% | 60,880 |
| Oklahoma | $30K | -16% | 43,830 |
| Kentucky | $30K | -16% | 51,250 |
| Louisiana | $29K | -17% | 49,570 |
| Arkansas | $29K | -17% | 35,510 |
| West Virginia | $29K | -18% | 19,050 |
| Mississippi | $29K | -19% | 38,400 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
Track retail salespersons salary changes
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Frequently asked questions
Can a retail salesperson afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $34K, rent takes 51.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $700/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for retail salespersons in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new retail salespersons typically earn — is $30K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,780/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 68% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is retail salesperson a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $34K locally vs. $35K nationally, a 4% difference.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for retail salespersons?
St. Louis pays $34K median vs. the U.S. average of $35K — that’s -4%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $36K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do retail salespersons make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $33,820 a year, that works out to about $16 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $29,670, and experienced retail salespersons can clear $47,490. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $34K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,367/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 51.5% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a retail salespersons salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median retail salespersons salary is worth about $35,566 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do retail salespersons get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.