Guide · 7 minutes
Industrial sales salary: what distributors, rental companies, building systems and machinery sellers pay
Written by Yuma Heymans, Founder & CEO of SalesJobs.Now.
Yuma runs SalesJobs.Now out of San Francisco. Recruiting is familiar ground: Yuma also co-founded HeroHunt.ai, a platform that uses AI to find and reach candidates.
A US industrial sales posting on this board typically pays $89,800 a year, with the middle half of postings between $58,916 and $118,500. Two kinds of industrial seller sit inside that figure. Sellers of engineered products and services (energy, water and chemical treatment, machinery and automation, building systems) post medians from $98,600 to $117,875. Sellers at distributors and rental companies post $54,000 to $67,500, for outside, inside and counter seats that commonly add commission on what the rep sells. This guide breaks industrial sales pay down by kind of company, seat and employer.
On 2 November 2026 this board had 5,008 open sales roles at companies that make, rent or distribute industrial products, 2,652 of them open to US candidates, and 56% of those stated their pay. A role counts by what its employer sells, never its title, so a Graybar inside sales rep and an Ecolab territory manager both count. Every figure is the midpoint of each posting's own range on a full year's scale (base or on-target earnings, as the posting states it), one per posting after repeats of the same title at the same company are merged, and the median across the US postings. The industrial and distribution sales jobs page lists every open seat with today's figures.
Contents
- The short answer
- Pay by kind of company
- Pay by seat
- Pay by company
- What the distributor figures leave out
- Getting into industrial sales
- How these figures were counted
- Quick answers
1. The short answer
| Measure, US industrial sales roles, 2 Nov 2026 | Posted pay per year |
|---|---|
| Median | $89,800 |
| Middle half of postings | $58,916 to $118,500 |
| Bottom tenth below | $47,260 |
| Top tenth above | $154,500 |
| Share of postings stating pay | 56% |
| Posted as remote | 10% (258 of 2,652) |
2. Pay by kind of company
| Kind of company | US open roles | Share stating pay | Median | Middle half | Most open roles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy, water and chemical treatment | 267 | 63% | $117,875 | $90,000 to $154,375 | Ecolab, Hitachi, Veolia, Generac, Xylem |
| Machinery, automation and other manufacturing | 298 | 59% | $112,500 | $86,400 to $142,525 | Bosch, Stanley Black & Decker, 3M, Dover |
| Building systems, safety and access | 499 | 78% | $98,600 | $85,000 to $118,500 | Johnson Controls, Carrier, Motorola Solutions, Otis |
| Logistics and freight | 191 | 48% | $80,000 | $47,500 to $115,100 | RXO, Expeditors, C.H. Robinson, J.B. Hunt |
| Building and industrial supply distribution | 386 | 39% | $67,500 | $50,575 to $101,250 | Ferguson, ABC Supply, LKQ, Veritiv |
| Electrical and electronics distribution | 361 | 62% | $60,143 | $47,976 to $89,825 | Graybar, Rexel, Arrow Electronics, Avnet |
| Equipment rental | 385 | 53% | $54,000 | $51,483 to $60,000 | United Rentals, Sunbelt Rentals, Ryder |
The remaining roles are at contractors and home improvement companies (156, mostly Renuity) and Syngenta's seed advisors (109), whose postings rarely state pay. The guides Construction sales salary and Logistics sales salary break those two trades down further.
3. Pay by seat
| Seat | US postings with pay | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales leadership | 142 | $127,500 | $92,375 to $173,250 |
| Account management | 164 | $112,500 | $92,500 to $129,000 |
| Sales engineering | 70 | $108,750 | $97,500 to $126,250 |
| Account executive, outside and inside sales | 700 | $75,511 | $53,388 to $100,050 |
| Sales development | 69 | $60,000 | $47,840 to $80,756 |
Account managers post above outside reps here: many account manager seats are at manufacturers and service companies (Carrier's commercial service account managers among them), while outside and inside reps at distributors and rental companies post a salary that commission commonly adds to.
4. Pay by company
Among employers with at least 15 US postings that state pay, the medians on 2 November 2026 were:
| Employer | What it sells | US postings with pay | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier | Heating, cooling and building systems | 77 | $118,500 |
| Ecolab | Water, hygiene and infection prevention | 38 | $113,600 |
| Motorola Solutions | Public safety and security technology | 57 | $97,500 |
| Bosch | Engineering and technology | 31 | $92,500 |
| Johnson Controls | Building systems and services | 161 | $89,800 |
| ABC Supply | Roofing and exterior products wholesale | 23 | $67,600 |
| United Rentals | Construction and industrial equipment rental | 23 | $66,716 |
| Arrow Electronics | Electronic components and IT distribution | 19 | $66,560 |
| Graybar | Electrical, datacomm and automation distribution | 131 | $55,000 |
| Rexel | Electrical supplies distribution | 19 | $54,257 |
| Ryder | Truck leasing, rental and logistics | 35 | $54,000 |
| Sunbelt Rentals | Equipment and tool rental | 49 | $53,881 |
| Ferguson | Plumbing, heating and infrastructure distribution | 57 | $52,083 |
| RXO | Freight brokerage and last mile | 21 | $45,011 |
United Rentals had the most open US industrial sales roles (229), then Johnson Controls (190), Graybar (163), Syngenta (109) and Renuity (105). The states with the most US openings were Texas (158), California (104), Illinois (79), Florida (70) and Ohio (69).
5. What the distributor figures leave out
Distributor and rental postings state salaries in the $45,000 to $70,000 range for most outside, inside and counter seats, and these seats commonly add commission on gross margin or on what the rep sells, which a posted range may leave out. Before accepting:
- Ask what reps at the branch earned last year in total, commission included.
- Ask what the commission is paid on (gross margin, revenue or growth over last year), and whether it is capped.
- Ask whether you inherit accounts, how many, and how they are split between inside and outside reps.
- Ask what comes with an outside seat: a vehicle or allowance, a phone and fuel.
The guide What is OTE explains base, variable pay and quota, and Inside sales vs outside sales compares the two seats.
6. Getting into industrial sales
Industrial sales hires more beginners than most of the board: inside and counter seats at distributors, trainee programs at manufacturers (Johnson Controls' technical sales trainees) and rental companies (United Rentals' sales development program) take people without a sales record, and people from the trades and the military bring the customer's language with them. Of the US postings whose requirements were read, 50 of 123 named a degree, and those naming years asked for a median of three. Sales engineer seats usually ask for an engineering degree or years in the trade.
7. How these figures were counted
- The roles: every open sales role on this board on 2 November 2026 at a company listed in industry, distribution and logistics, read from each company's own careers system and checked every hour: 5,008 roles, 2,652 of them open to US candidates.
- The kind of company: from each company's own description of what it sells.
- The pay: the midpoint of each posting's own range on a full year's scale, one per posting after repeats of the same title at the same company are merged, and the median across the US postings. "Up to" figures are left out.
These figures describe one day; the industrial and distribution sales jobs page always shows the current roles and pay.
8. Quick answers
How much do industrial sales reps make? On this board, US industrial sales postings state a median of $89,800 a year, with the middle half between $58,916 and $118,500 (2 November 2026).
How much does an industrial distribution sales rep make? Distributor postings state medians of $60,143 (electrical and electronics) and $67,500 (building and industrial supply), mostly salaries that commission commonly adds to.
Which industrial sales jobs pay the most? Sellers of energy, water and chemical treatment ($117,875 median) and of machinery and automation ($112,500), and sales leadership across the trade ($127,500).
Do you need a degree for industrial sales? Not for most seats: 41% of the postings whose requirements were read named one.
Where can I see industrial sales jobs? The industrial and distribution sales jobs page lists every open seat with the pay it posts.