Beacon, a go-to-market (GTM) recruiting firm, ranked every area in its public BLS data set by the median annual wage for sales managers, marketing managers and technical sales representatives. All figures are from the May 2025 government survey, across all industries.
Download the CSVThe source is the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Every figure below is an annual wage for the May 2025 reference period, reported by employers across all industries and company sizes. Three limits matter before you use any number:
Metro rows cover one metropolitan statistical area. Rows marked statewide blend every labor market in the state, so a state median can sit well below its biggest city. California and Texas statewide rows in Beacon’s data hold medians only, and Salt Lake City has no technical-representative row, so those cells are left out rather than estimated. Rankings below are computed by script from the data file, and each percentage is the area median compared with the US median for the same occupation.
The US median for Sales Managers is $148,270 across 637,080 employed. Among the 13 metros here, New York City leads at $215,150 and Miami trails at $130,180, a ratio of 1.65 to 1.
| Rank | Area | Median | Versus U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York State (statewide) | $217,640 | +47% |
| 2 | New York City | $215,150 | +45% |
| 3 | Boston | $206,610 | +39% |
| 4 | Massachusetts (statewide) | $191,200 | +29% |
| 5 | Seattle | $184,320 | +24% |
| 6 | Denver | $181,580 | +22% |
| 7 | Washington, DC | $175,820 | +19% |
| 8 | San Francisco Bay Area | $170,810 | +15% |
| 9 | Atlanta | $166,920 | +13% |
| 10 | Chicago | $158,690 | +7% |
| 11 | Philadelphia | $156,500 | +6% |
| 12 | Austin | $151,760 | +2% |
| 13 | Salt Lake City | $143,930 | -3% |
| 14 | Texas (statewide) | $136,020 | -8% |
| 15 | California (statewide) | $134,910 | -9% |
| 16 | Los Angeles | $132,330 | -11% |
| 17 | Miami | $130,180 | -12% |
| United States | $148,270 | baseline |
The US median for Marketing Managers is $166,790 across 395,240 employed. Among the 13 metros with data, San Francisco Bay Area leads at $220,480 and Miami trails at $135,870, a ratio of 1.62 to 1.
| Rank | Area | Median | Versus U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco Bay Area | $220,480 | +32% |
| 2 | Boston | $213,910 | +28% |
| 3 | Massachusetts (statewide) | $212,020 | +27% |
| 4 | California (statewide) | $193,620 | +16% |
| 5 | New York City | $192,840 | +16% |
| 6 | Denver | $182,470 | +9% |
| 7 | Washington, DC | $181,260 | +9% |
| 8 | New York State (statewide) | $181,200 | +9% |
| 9 | Seattle | $175,850 | +5% |
| 10 | Los Angeles | $171,900 | +3% |
| 11 | Philadelphia | $166,310 | 0% |
| 12 | Chicago | $165,340 | -1% |
| 13 | Austin | $164,920 | -1% |
| 14 | Atlanta | $163,500 | -2% |
| 15 | Texas (statewide) | $147,880 | -11% |
| 16 | Salt Lake City | $139,830 | -16% |
| 17 | Miami | $135,870 | -19% |
| United States | $166,790 | baseline |
The US median is $104,920 across 284,800 employed. Among the 12 metros with data, Denver leads at $136,100 and Austin trails at $83,170, a ratio of 1.64 to 1.
| Rank | Area | Median | Versus U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | $136,100 | +30% |
| 2 | New York City | $133,690 | +27% |
| 3 | San Francisco Bay Area | $130,710 | +25% |
| 4 | Seattle | $129,550 | +23% |
| 5 | New York State (statewide) | $129,410 | +23% |
| 6 | Atlanta | $126,330 | +20% |
| 7 | California (statewide) | $124,220 | +18% |
| 8 | Boston | $122,550 | +17% |
| 9 | Philadelphia | $121,180 | +15% |
| 10 | Washington, DC | $120,140 | +15% |
| 11 | Massachusetts (statewide) | $118,980 | +13% |
| 12 | Chicago | $112,150 | +7% |
| 13 | Los Angeles | $107,020 | +2% |
| 14 | Miami | $106,970 | +2% |
| 15 | Texas (statewide) | $99,080 | -6% |
| 16 | Austin | $83,170 | -21% |
| United States | $104,920 | baseline |
Percentiles (25th and 75th) for every area that has them are in the CSV. Some statewide rows hold medians only.
Marketing managers out-earn sales managers in 9 of the 13 metros that have both rows: Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Washington, DC, Denver. The gap runs from -10% in New York City to +30% in Los Angeles. Where the marketing median sits below the sales median, the sales-manager row is carrying a premium that the marketing market does not match.
Beacon’s view: a company that sets one national band for both leaders will underpay one of them in most cities. Set each band from its own row.
These use hypothetical employers and the medians above. They show how to use the data, not what any company pays.
| Example | Inputs (BLS medians) | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. A Boston-based company hires a sales manager in Austin | Boston $206,610, Austin $151,760, US $148,270 | $206,610 − $151,760 = $54,850. That is 36.1% above the Austin median, and the Boston median is $58,340 above the US one. | Paying Boston’s median in Austin sits 36.1% above what Austin employers pay at the median. |
| 2. A Seattle-based company hires a marketing manager in Miami | Seattle $175,850, Miami $135,870 | $175,850 − $135,870 = $39,980, so Seattle is 29.4% above Miami. | A Seattle-median offer in Miami is $39,980 over the Miami median. A Miami-median offer would be 22.7% below Seattle’s. |
| 3. Budgeting a three-seat team (one sales manager, one marketing manager, one technical rep) in Denver or Atlanta | Denver: $181,580 + $182,470 + $136,100. Atlanta: $166,920 + $163,500 + $126,330 | Denver total $500,150. Atlanta total $456,750. Difference $43,400. | At medians, the Denver team costs $43,400 more than the Atlanta team (9.5%). |
Every number in the table was computed from the data file by script. Medians are not salaries anyone has accepted: they are the midpoint of what employers report paying across all industries.
Beacon’s view, not an industry rule: start with the BLS median for the candidate’s own market as a floor for a base-wage conversation, then add SaaS-specific data for variable pay and equity, because BLS does not measure either. Decide in writing whether the company pays to local market, to headquarters, or to one national band, and keep the rule the same for every role in that function. The most expensive remote-hiring mistake is making the exception once and having it become the rule.
For SaaS-specific compensation ranges by stage, see Sales comp benchmarks 2026 and the GTM salary benchmark. For leadership roles, see hiring a VP of Sales and hiring a Chief Revenue Officer.
Each market page adds local employers, local talent sources and the full BLS breakdown for that area.
gtm-pay-by-metro-2026.csv holds employment, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile and the median’s percentage difference from the US median, for every area and occupation shown here. Blank cells mean BLS data was not held for that cell.
It gives a public, independent floor for what employers in a market pay for three occupations: sales managers, marketing managers, and technical and scientific sales representatives. It covers all industries and company sizes, and it is not SaaS-only and not on-target earnings, so it works as a sanity check on an offer rather than a quote for one.
Among the 13 metros with a sales-manager median here, New York City is highest at $215,150 and Miami is lowest at $130,180, a ratio of 1.65 to 1. Statewide rows for New York State and others are listed separately because a state blends several labor markets.
No. The BLS figure is annual wages for the occupation across all industries as reported by employers for the May 2025 survey period. It is not a SaaS figure and it is not an on-target earnings number, so a VP Sales or CRO offer will usually be built on separate SaaS market data.
In 9 of the 13 metros with both rows here, the marketing-manager median is above the sales-manager median: Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Washington, DC, Denver. The gap runs from -10% in New York City to +30% in Los Angeles.
Beacon's view: anchor on the market where the candidate competes for jobs, then decide on purpose whether to pay above it. A company that pays a Boston band to a sales manager in Austin is $54,850 above the Austin median, which makes the offer easy to accept but sets a precedent for every later hire in that city.
BLS publishes the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics each spring. This page uses the May 2025 reference period and will be rebuilt when the May 2026 estimates are published.
Rankings, percentages and the three examples are computed by script from Beacon’s data file and are not BLS publications. The employers in the examples are hypothetical. Statements labelled “Beacon’s view” are opinion.
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