What technical sales and sales engineer jobs pay in 2026, by level, title and state
US technical sales and sales engineer postings state a median base salary of $140,000 in 2026, up 3.7% from 2025. This guide sets out the quartiles, hourly equivalents, pay by level and state, and how solutions engineer and technical sales rep titles differ, from 1,715 postings that stated pay.
$140,000
National Median
Salary Range
US job postings for technical sales and sales engineer roles state a median base salary of $140,000 a year, adjusted for which states disclose pay, across 1,715 postings collected from January 1 to August 31, 2026 that stated a figure. Those 1,715 are 47.1% of the 3,644 postings PayScope collected for the role; 1,927 gave no pay and 2 stated a figure outside the usable range.
The figure is base pay as the employer wrote it, before any commission, bonus or equity. Half of the postings fall between $101,450 and $177,660, and the job title moves the number more than the state does: solutions engineer postings have a median of $167,500, technical sales representative postings $101,450. Posted pay is 3.7% higher than in the same months of 2025.
How much does a technical sales professional make?
A technical sales professional in the US makes a median base salary of $140,000 a year in 2026 job postings, which works out to $67.31 an hour, $2,692 a week or $11,667 a month. The hourly figure is the annual median divided by 2,080 working hours, not a posted hourly rate. The middle half of postings runs from $101,450 to $177,660 a year, or $48.77 to $85.41 an hour. Rounded to the nearest five thousand dollars, the median base salary is $140K, before any commission or bonus.
| Percentile | Annual | Hourly equivalent | Monthly equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $101,450 | $48.77 | $8,454 |
| Median | $140,000 | $67.31 | $11,667 |
| 75th percentile | $177,660 | $85.41 | $14,805 |
Coverage-adjusted base pay from 1,715 US postings that stated pay, collected January 1 to August 31, 2026.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual wage for Sales Engineers (SOC 41-9031) at $124,900, or $60.05 an hour, in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025. For Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products (SOC 41-4011), the May 2025 OEWS median is $104,920.
The two sources measure different groups. BLS surveys employers about everyone already in the job, across all industries and every length of tenure, while this page reads the base pay employers advertised in 2026. The postings that name a level also lean senior: 527 of the 609 are senior or lead. The occupational fit is approximate too, because PayScope's titles include solutions engineer and solutions consultant, which are not among the sample titles O*NET lists for 41-9031.
The figures: coverage adjustment leaves the median at $140,000
The as-posted column is what the 1,715 postings that stated pay say. The coverage-adjusted column re-weights them so each state carries its share of all 3,644 postings collected, not only its share of the ones that disclosed. On this role the correction leaves the median unchanged and moves the quartiles by less than $1,000.
| Measure | As posted | Coverage-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $101,500 | $101,450 |
| Median | $140,000 | $140,000 |
| 75th percentile | $178,500 | $177,660 |
Base pay, annualized, 1,715 US postings that stated pay, collected January 1 to August 31, 2026.
The job title moves pay by up to $66,100
Six posted titles feed this page, and their medians run from $101,400 to $167,500. Solutions engineer is the best-paid title, with a 25th percentile of $130,000, only $10,000 under the role median. Technical sales representative, field application engineer and technical sales engineer form a lower group, all between $101,400 and $105,000.
| Posted title | Postings with pay | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solutions engineer | 582 | $130,000 | $167,500 | $200,000 |
| Solutions consultant | 189 | $112,986 | $144,000 | $177,660 |
| Sales engineer | 626 | $100,000 | $140,000 | $175,000 |
| Technical sales engineer | 57 | $87,500 | $105,000 | $127,500 |
| Technical sales representative | 137 | $90,000 | $101,450 | $120,000 |
| Field application engineer | 124 | $101,400 | $101,400 | $129,459 |
Base pay as posted, by job title, US postings that stated pay, collected January 1 to August 31, 2026. The field application engineer 25th percentile and median are the same figure because a large block of those postings states exactly $101,400.
Pay by state: medians run from $117,500 to $156,500
| State | Postings with pay | Median | Middle half (p25 to p75) |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 235 | $152,000 | $113,400 to $200,000 |
| New York | 195 | $152,800 | $114,000 to $192,500 |
| Texas | 126 | $132,500 | $101,450 to $179,375 |
| Illinois | 89 | $125,000 | $100,000 to $173,500 |
| Massachusetts | 81 | $122,500 | $102,500 to $175,000 |
| Colorado | 45 | $117,500 | $93,100 to $150,000 |
| Washington | 42 | $140,000 | $117,500 to $182,000 |
| Virginia | 41 | $130,000 | $101,400 to $173,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 41 | $140,000 | $101,400 to $175,000 |
| Florida | 41 | $117,500 | $98,490 to $167,500 |
| Georgia | 40 | $156,500 | $115,000 to $190,100 |
| Ohio | 37 | $120,000 | $95,000 to $148,200 |
Base pay as posted. Postings collected January 1 to August 31, 2026; the 12 states with the most postings that stated pay, all with at least 30.
Georgia has the highest median in the table at $156,500, on 40 postings, followed by New York at $152,800 and California at $152,000. Colorado and Florida have the lowest, both $117,500, which leaves a $39,000 gap between the top and bottom of the table. Four more states clear the 30-posting floor on smaller samples: New Jersey, North Carolina, Michigan and Minnesota.
47.1% of technical sales postings state pay
Of the 3,644 technical sales postings collected, 1,715 stated a usable base salary. Disclosure varies widely by state: 63.3% of Massachusetts postings state pay, 60.0% in Colorado, 59.8% in New York, 53.8% in California and 52.5% in Washington, against 39.5% in Texas and 39.0% in Florida.
Across all roles PayScope tracks, the 13 states with pay-transparency laws in force disclose pay in 53.9% of postings against 33.8% elsewhere, the median role pays about 10% more there, and re-weighting by state moves a typical median by about 1%. For technical sales the re-weighting leaves the median at $140,000 and trims the 75th percentile from $178,500 to $177,660, so the mix of states that disclose does not tilt the headline. Some postings with no figure say DOE instead, and what a DOE salary means covers that wording.
Posted pay is 3.7% higher than in 2025
The comparison uses the same six titles, the same US filter and the same calendar window in both years, January 1 to early September. The median base salary in 2025 postings was $135,000, across 4,801 postings that stated pay. In 2026 it is $140,000, a rise of 3.7%, which puts the role in the Balanced band of PayScope's market label.
Posting counts are not compared across years, because collection volume changes from month to month and says nothing about how many jobs exist.
Pay by level: senior and lead postings sit near $175,000
The ladder below is built on the 609 postings that state a level and a salary. The other 1,106 usable postings state none, and their median of $120,000 sits 14.3% below the role median of $140,000. The ladder therefore describes the postings that name a rung, and those lean senior: 443 of the 609 are senior and 84 are lead.
| Level | Postings with pay | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | 51 | $81,000 | $95,400 | $124,000 | 1 to 2 years |
| Mid | 31 | $89,600 | $112,500 | $131,000 | Not stated |
| Senior | 443 | $147,000 | $175,000 | $200,000 | 5 to 8 years |
| Lead | 84 | $152,500 | $177,660 | $200,000 | 5 to 8 years |
Base pay as posted, by the level stated in the posting, US postings collected January 1 to August 31, 2026.
Senior and lead differ by $2,660, and mid rests on 31 postings
Lead postings have a median of $177,660 against $175,000 for senior. Both rungs state 5 to 8 years in the role and share a 75th percentile of $200,000, so posted base pay shows one senior band rather than two.
The mid rung is the thinnest, at 31 postings against a publishing floor of 30, and its middle half of $89,600 to $131,000 overlaps most of the entry range. The step that stands out is mid to senior, $62,500 at the median.
What sales engineers and technical sales reps do
Technical sales jobs sell products complex enough that the buyer needs someone who understands the technology. O*NET OnLine lists these core tasks for sales engineers (41-9031):
- Develop, present or respond to proposals and RFPs built around a customer's requirements
- Work with the sales team to understand customer needs and give technical sales support
- Visit prospective buyers to show samples and explain pricing, availability and benefits
- Prepare sales or service contracts
- Track industry trends, competitors and product-line developments
- Spot resale opportunities and support them to meet sales plans
O*NET's top skills for the occupation are speaking, active listening, critical thinking, reading comprehension and active learning. BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for sales engineers, with moderate-term on-the-job training and no related work experience required.
BLS projects employment of sales engineers to grow by 2.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year (Employment Projections, Table 1.2), which BLS calls about as fast as the average for all occupations. The occupation is small, at 51,600 jobs in 2025. For technical and scientific products sales representatives the projection is 1.2% over the same decade, with about 23,600 openings a year.
Solutions and sales engineer titles pay more than technical sales rep titles
Sales engineer, solutions engineer and solutions consultant postings have 2026 medians from $140,000 to $167,500. O*NET's task list for sales engineers centers on proposals, RFP responses and technical support for the sales team.
Technical sales representative postings have a median of $101,450, close to the $105,000 for technical sales engineers and the $101,400 for field application engineers. BLS counts technical sales representatives as a separate occupation (41-4011), with a May 2025 median of $104,920.
Technical sales pay next to related roles
Of the five related roles below, only software engineer posts a higher median than technical sales.
| Role | Median | Data |
|---|---|---|
| Software engineer | $157,500 | Postings through Aug 31, 2026 |
| Product manager | $126,500 | March 2026 dataset |
| Customer success manager | $97,000 | Postings through Aug 31, 2026 |
| Technical support engineer | $73,500 | March 2026 dataset |
| Account manager | $70,000 | Postings through Aug 31, 2026 |
Postings titled sales engineer, solutions engineer, solutions consultant, technical sales representative, field application engineer or technical sales engineer all roll into this page.
How these figures were produced
The source is PayScope's collection of US job postings from January 1, 2026, deduplicated by posting id. Figures are dated August 31, 2026, the last fully collected month; the collection query ran to early September, so a few September postings are included. Of the 3,644 postings that matched the role, 1,715 stated a usable base salary, 1,927 stated no pay and 2 were set aside because the stated pay was outside the usable range. The six matched titles are sales engineer, solutions engineer, solutions consultant, technical sales representative, field application engineer and technical sales engineer.
The coverage adjustment re-weights postings that stated pay so each state counts in proportion to all postings collected there; for technical sales it holds the median at $140,000 and moves the 25th percentile from $101,500 to $101,450. Levels come from the posting itself, and a level is published only when at least 30 postings with pay state it.
Quota-carrying technical sales jobs often add commission on top of base. Every figure here is base pay as posted, with commission, bonus, equity and overtime excluded, and PayScope carries no commission or OTE estimate. The figures are regenerated monthly on the same method.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average technical sales salary?
The median base salary in US technical sales job postings is $140,000 a year, from 1,715 postings collected January 1 to August 31, 2026 that stated pay. Half of those postings fall between $101,450 and $177,660. The figures are coverage-adjusted base pay and exclude commission and bonus.
How much do sales engineers make per hour?
The sales engineer title has a median base salary of $140,000 on 626 US postings with pay, the same as the technical sales median, which equals $67.31 an hour on 2,080 working hours a year. The postings were collected January 1 to August 31, 2026, and the hourly figure is a conversion of the annual one, not a posted rate. BLS puts the May 2025 median for sales engineers at $60.05 an hour.
What is the entry level technical sales salary?
Entry-level technical sales postings have a median base salary of $95,400, with a middle half from $81,000 to $124,000, on 51 postings collected January 1 to August 31, 2026. Those postings state 1 to 2 years in the role. For comparison, technical sales representative postings at any level have a median of $101,450.
What does tech sales salary progression look like?
In 2026 postings the median base salary rises from $95,400 at entry to $112,500 at mid level, $175,000 at senior and $177,660 at lead. The biggest step is mid to senior, while senior and lead are nearly level and both state 5 to 8 years in the role. Only 609 of the 1,715 postings with pay state a level, and the mid figure rests on 31 of them.
Do technical sales salaries include commission?
Every figure on this page is base pay as stated in the posting, with commission, bonus, equity and overtime excluded. Many quota-carrying technical sales jobs add commission on top of base, so total earnings can run higher, but PayScope publishes no commission or OTE estimate.
How much does technical sales pay in Texas?
Texas technical sales postings have a median base salary of $132,500, with a middle half from $101,450 to $179,375, on 126 postings that stated pay between January 1 and August 31, 2026. That is $19,500 below the California median of $152,000. Only 39.5% of Texas postings stated pay, against 53.8% in California.
Is tech sales in high demand?
BLS projects employment of sales engineers to grow 2.8% from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations, with about 3,800 openings a year (Employment Projections, Table 1.2). For technical and scientific products sales representatives the projection is 1.2%, with about 23,600 openings a year. PayScope does not read its own posting counts as a demand signal, because collection volume varies too much from month to month.
What does it mean to work in technical sales?
It means selling products complex enough that the buyer needs the technology explained. According to O*NET OnLine, sales engineers prepare proposals and RFP responses around a customer's requirements, support the sales team, and visit buyers to demonstrate products and explain pricing. BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for sales engineers.