How Much Do Purchasing Managers Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary purchasing managers make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for purchasing managers and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of purchasing managers are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much purchasing managers can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Purchasing Managers

According to data from 2023, there were about 79,761 positions for purchasing managers in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for purchasing managers was reported to be $136,386. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 44,813 job postings related to positions for purchasing managers.

How Much Money Do Purchasing Managers Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money purchasing managers and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for purchasing managers.

Annual Salary for Purchasing Managers

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for purchasing managers and related professions earned about $83,512 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $215,176 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for purchasing managers in the United States in 2023 was $136,386.

Hourly Salary for Purchasing Managers

The BLS also breaks down compensation for purchasing managers by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for purchasing managers in 2023 was $66. Lowest hourly earners took home $40 while the highest reported hourly salaries for purchasing managers was $103.

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Degree Options for Purchasing Managers

Advertised Compensation for Purchasing Managers

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for purchasing managers, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for purchasing managers.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Purchasing Managers

During a review of 55,219 job postings related to purchasing managers, advertised salary was included in 18,014 of them, which was 33%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for purchasing managers was $115,072 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Purchasing Managers

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for purchasing managers. Based on 40% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for purchasing managers in the United States is about $55.

Salary Trend for Purchasing Managers

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for purchasing managers. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for purchasing managers dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for purchasing managers have increased 43%.

What's the Job Growth for Purchasing Managers?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for purchasing managers over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 79,859 jobs for purchasing managers in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 7,045 jobs will be added. That's a 8.8% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about purchasing managers? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for purchasing managers.

What do purchasing managers do?
Purchasing Managers: How do you become one?

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