Medical device sales salary: what device postings state, and how to work out the commission

A US medical device sales job posting on this board typically states $105,000 a year, and the middle half of postings run from $90,000 to $142,250. That figure is mostly base salary: device makers pay their field sellers a large share of their income as commission, and few postings price it. This guide shows what device postings state by seat, company and state, why fewer than half state any pay, and how to estimate what a territory really pays.

On 1 November 2026 this board had 1,292 open sales roles at medical device makers that US candidates could take, and only 593 of them (46%) stated their pay, the lowest share of any market on the board. Every figure below is the midpoint of each posting's own range on a full year's scale, and the median across the postings in each group. The medical device sales jobs page lists every open seat with today's pay, read again every hour.

Contents

1. The short answer
2. Pay by seat
3. Why so few device postings state pay
4. The companies that post pay
5. Pay by state
6. Base, commission and what a territory pays
7. How to judge an offer
8. How these figures were counted
9. Quick answers

1. The short answer

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage of sales representatives of technical and scientific products, the group that includes medical devices, at $104,920 in May 2025, against $72,080 for other wholesale and manufacturing products - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS figure includes commission across every level of experience; the posted figures on this board are mostly salary, so experienced device sellers in strong territories earn well above both.

2. Pay by seat

The ladder is the device industry's own. Associate territory managers and associate sales reps learn the products in the operating room or clinic beside a senior rep, usually on a salary with a small bonus. Territory managers and sales representatives own a territory and its quota, with a lower base and most of their income in commission. Account managers often look after a hospital system's contracts or a capital equipment base. District and regional managers lead the field teams. The most common titles that day were Territory Manager, Therapy Development Representative, Account Manager and District Sales Manager. The guide How to get into medical device sales explains each step and how to get the first one.

3. Why so few device postings state pay

Device makers post pay less often than any other market on the board: 46% of US device roles stated a figure that day, against 84% at drug makers and 71% across US sales roles as a whole. Stryker, the largest poster of device sales roles, had 321 US roles open without a pay figure; Medtronic, BD, Johnson & Johnson and Smith+Nephew followed. Pay range laws require a range only in the states that have them, so a device maker can state a figure in one state's posting and none in the next.

So the figures in this guide describe the device postings that state pay, which may not represent the field territories that state none. The guide Which sales jobs show their pay shows how disclosure varies by state, and the advice in section 6 is how to get the missing number in an interview.

4. The companies that post pay

The device makers whose US sales postings had the highest median pay on 1 November 2026, among those with at least eight roles posting pay:

Abbott posted the most device sales roles with pay (165), including diabetes care sales associates and specialists, then Inspire Medical Systems (57, mostly Therapy Development Representatives who build physician referrals in a territory), Siemens Healthineers (54), Johnson & Johnson (50) and Smith+Nephew (48, median $90,000). Every company page lists its open sales roles with their pay.

5. Pay by state

Among US device roles posting pay, by the state the posting names (at least 20 roles posting pay):

California's pay range law covers every employer there with 15 or more employees, so its device postings state pay more often than most. Minnesota is home to one of the country's largest clusters of device makers.

6. Base, commission and what a territory pays

A device territory manager is paid a base salary plus commission on the territory's sales, often uncapped and often a large share of the year's income, with a quarterly bonus for hitting goals. Associate seats lean on salary; capital equipment seats pay larger commissions on fewer, bigger sales; implant seats (spine, joints, cardiac) pay on every case. That is why the same company can post a $70,000 base for one seat and a $150,000 base for another, and why the base says little about the total.

To estimate what a territory pays, ask three things: the territory's sales last year, the commission rate on them, and what share of reps hit plan. As an illustration, not a quote: a territory doing $3 million a year at a 5% commission rate pays $150,000 in commission on top of the base; the same rate on a new territory with no accounts pays far less until it grows. Ask also whether you inherit the accounts and surgeons of the rep before you, and whether there is a guarantee or draw in the first months while you build. The guide What is OTE explains guarantees, draws and payout curves.

7. How to judge an offer

• Ask for the on-target total, not just the base. What a rep at plan earned last year in this territory, base plus commission and bonus.
• Ask about the territory's history. Its sales, its growth, how long the last rep stayed, and why they left.
• Ask about the guarantee. Many device makers pay a guaranteed commission or a draw for the first months of a new seat.
• Ask about call hours. Implant and trauma seats can mean early cases and weekend calls; ask how often. Few orthopedic sales jobs state their pay, so ask for the split between base and commission early.
• Ask about the car and expenses, and whether the company pays for the operating room credentialing a seat needs.

8. How these figures were counted

• The roles: every open sales role at a medical device maker on this board on 1 November 2026 that a US candidate could take, read from each company's own careers system and checked every hour: 1,292 roles, 593 of them stating pay, at 29 companies. A company counts here by what it sells (implants, surgical and capital equipment, monitoring, diabetes care and diagnostic devices).
• The pay: the midpoint of each posting's own range on a full year's scale, and the median across the roles in each group. Seats come from the title's words, states from the posted location (a role naming several states counts in each). A group is shown when at least 20 roles in it post pay; a company when at least eight do.

These figures describe one day; the board's pages always show the current pay.

9. Quick answers

How much do medical device sales reps make? On this board, US device sales postings that state pay show a median of $105,000 a year, mostly base salary (1 November 2026). Commission comes on top, often a large share of the total; the BLS median for technical and scientific sales reps, commission included, was $104,920 in May 2025.

What does an associate territory manager make? A median posted figure of about $67,500, usually a salary with a small bonus while the associate learns the products.

How much do device territory managers make? Postings state a median of about $80,000, almost all of it base; what the territory sells decides the commission on top.

Why don't device jobs post their pay? Fewer than half of US device postings did on 1 November 2026; Stryker alone had 321 US roles without a figure. Postings in states with pay range laws usually state a base range.

Where can I see medical device sales jobs with their pay? The medical device sales jobs page lists every open seat with the pay it posts, and the medical sales jobs page adds drug makers, diagnostics and health services.