Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

13-1020 Buyers and Purchasing Agents

Purchase goods or services for further processing, resale, or to enable operation of an establishment. May analyze past buying trends, sales records, price, and quality of goods or services. May select, order, and authorize payment according to contractual agreements. May conduct meetings with sales personnel and introduce new products. Includes wholesale and retail buyers and purchasing agents for farm products, equipment, and raw materials.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
421,280	0.7 %	$33.50	$69,680	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$18.38	$23.69	$30.95	$40.69	$51.69
Annual Wage (2)	$38,230	$49,280	$64,380	$84,630	$107,510

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Management of Companies and Enterprises	43,680	1.77	$37.44	$77,880
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	35,560	1.77	$41.54	$86,410
Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only)	17,680	1.24	$30.87	$64,210
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	12,460	1.26	$31.43	$65,370
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	12,150	0.22	$32.16	$66,890

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	11,540	2.22	$39.47	$82,090
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	35,560	1.77	$41.54	$86,410
Management of Companies and Enterprises	43,680	1.77	$37.44	$77,880
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	7,150	1.76	$36.96	$76,880
Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers	1,200	1.71	$30.22	$62,870

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil	50	0.42	$49.19	$102,310
Software Publishers	820	0.19	$45.50	$94,640
Oil and Gas Extraction	1,770	1.25	$43.32	$90,110
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 And 5223 only)	1,660	0.08	$41.78	$86,890
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	35,560	1.77	$41.54	$86,410

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	45,970	2.64	0.92	$35.06	$72,930
Texas	37,660	3.03	1.06	$34.97	$72,740
New York	25,840	2.71	0.95	$36.55	$76,030
Florida	22,600	2.57	0.90	$31.08	$64,660
Ohio	18,020	3.31	1.15	$32.60	$67,810

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington	14,910	4.49	1.57	$35.63	$74,110
Virginia	15,850	4.09	1.43	$38.05	$79,150
Kansas	5,140	3.69	1.29	$30.34	$63,110
New Hampshire	2,430	3.68	1.28	$32.80	$68,230
Colorado	9,720	3.63	1.27	$33.13	$68,900

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	2,540	3.51	1.22	$47.72	$99,250
New Jersey	11,410	2.79	0.97	$40.55	$84,350
Virginia	15,850	4.09	1.43	$38.05	$79,150
Maryland	9,080	3.36	1.17	$37.96	$78,960
New York	25,840	2.71	0.95	$36.55	$76,030

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	27,290	2.83	0.99	$39.16	$81,450
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	18,540	2.97	1.04	$35.16	$73,130
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	13,070	4.11	1.43	$43.76	$91,010
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	12,170	3.33	1.16	$39.39	$81,940
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	11,740	2.51	0.87	$32.11	$66,790
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	11,170	5.53	1.93	$37.39	$77,780
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	10,850	3.55	1.24	$35.88	$74,620
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	8,710	3.03	1.06	$36.57	$76,070
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	8,220	4.17	1.45	$34.50	$71,760
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	8,130	4.11	1.43	$36.34	$75,580