Buyer Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 8,349 US job postings by 3,707 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for buyers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 8,349 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for buyers in US job postings is $100,000 a year (2,106 postings from 1,023 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $72,000 to $132,000.
- The skills that most set buyer postings apart are procurement, Excel, strategic sourcing.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 3 years of experience.
Buyer job postings in the US, October 2026
- $100,000
- Median advertised pay (2,106 postings)
- $72,000–$132,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 8,349
- US job postings from 3,707 employers
- 3 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a buyer make?
The median advertised pay is $100,000 a year, from 2,106 US job postings by 1,023 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $162,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 2,106 US buyer job postings: median $100,000 a year, middle half $72,000 to $132,000.
- Median: $100,000
- 25th percentile: $72,000
- 75th percentile: $132,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 1.2% |
| $30K–$40K | 2.9% |
| $40K–$50K | 4.4% |
| $50K–$60K | 5.6% |
| $60K–$70K | 8.3% |
| $70K–$80K | 10.0% |
| $80K–$90K | 8.6% |
| $90K–$100K | 8.9% |
| $100K–$110K | 9.8% |
| $110K–$120K | 7.8% |
| $120K–$130K | 6.0% |
| $130K–$140K | 6.7% |
| $140K–$150K | 4.6% |
| $150K–$160K | 4.1% |
| $160K–$170K | 2.8% |
| $170K–$180K | 2.3% |
| $180K–$190K | 1.8% |
| $190K–$200K | 1.2% |
| $200K–$210K | 1.1% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.8% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.4% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | Most common titles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $25.00 | $20.00–$31.68 | 360 | Procurement Specialist, Buyer, Procurement Intern |
| Postings that state an annual salary | $106,000 | $84K–$137K | 1,614 | Procurement Manager, Buyer, Procurement Specialist |
| All pay postings, annualised | $100,000 | $72K–$132K | 2,106 | – |
What is the starting salary for a buyer?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Buyer levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked. Senior buyers have a median advertised pay of $117,000 a year.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level II | 2.9% | 2 years | – |
| No level in title | 81.6% | 3 years | $98,000 |
| Senior | 9.6% | 5 years | $117,000 |
Highest-paying buyer jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcing Specialist | $134,000 | 267 | 153 |
| Procurement Manager | $128,000 | 327 | 220 |
| Buyer (general) | $78,000 | 305 | 186 |
Buyer pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $115,000 | $82,000–$150,000 | 398 | 14.1% |
| New York | $90,000 | $69,000–$118,000 | 166 | 6.5% |
Skills employers ask for in buyer job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 50% |
| Excel | 39% |
| Analytical skills | 32% |
| Organizational skills | 24% |
| Microsoft Office | 23% |
| Problem-solving | 22% |
| Attention to detail | 19% |
| Procurement | 17% |
| Interpersonal skills | 16% |
| Negotiation | 15% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set buyers apart
- Procurement62.9× as often as in all postings · 17%
- Excel3.8× as often as in all postings · 39%
- Strategic sourcing148× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Analytical skills4.4× as often as in all postings · 32%
- Negotiation13.3× as often as in all postings · 15%
- Purchasing66.5× as often as in all postings · 9%
- SAP12.6× as often as in all postings · 13%
- Supplier management104.9× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Supply chain38× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Category management111.5× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Erp systems20.6× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Negotiation skills11.9× as often as in all postings · 8%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a buyer job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a buyer do?
Employers post these jobs as Procurement Specialist, Procurement Manager, Purchasing Manager, Purchasing Agent, Sourcing Manager and other titles. The largest specializations are Procurement Manager (14%), Purchasing Agent (9%), Sourcing Specialist (11%), Procurement Specialist (8%), Purchasing Coordinator (5%), Category Manager (7%).
The closest official occupation is Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (13-1023.00). Its most important tasks:
- Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
- Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
- Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
- Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
- Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a buyer?
Among 4,364 postings that state a minimum, the median is 3 years. 2% say 0 years and 13% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 4,364 US buyer job postings: median 3 years, and 13% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 2% |
| 1 yr | 10% |
| 2 yrs | 18% |
| 3-4 yrs | 27% |
| 5-7 yrs | 32% |
| 8-9 yrs | 5% |
| 10+ yrs | 5% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 98%, Part-time 2% of the 709 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a buyer: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Buyer | 447 (12.1%) |
| Procurement Specialist | 279 (7.5%) |
| Procurement Manager | 265 (7.1%) |
| Purchasing Manager | 196 (5.3%) |
| Purchasing Agent | 158 (4.3%) |
| Sourcing Manager | 138 (3.7%) |
| Senior Buyer | 118 (3.2%) |
| Procurement Analyst | 110 (3.0%) |
| Buyer II | 105 (2.8%) |
| Purchasing Specialist | 103 (2.8%) |
| Purchasing Coordinator | 98 (2.6%) |
| Category Manager | 92 (2.5%) |
| Purchasing Assistant | 85 (2.3%) |
| Commodity Manager | 79 (2.1%) |
| Strategic Sourcing Manager | 74 (2.0%) |
| Buyer/Planner | 69 (1.9%) |
| Assistant Buyer | 66 (1.8%) |
| Sourcing Specialist | 53 (1.4%) |
| Procurement Intern | 52 (1.4%) |
| Buyer I | 50 (1.4%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Buyer job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category Manager | 133 | 92 | – | – | – |
| Procurement Specialist | 367 | 279 | – | – | communication, Excel, organizational skills |
| Procurement Manager | 360 | 265 | – | 5 years | communication, analytical skills, Excel |
| Purchasing Agent | 206 | 158 | – | – | communication, Excel, organizational skills |
| Purchasing Manager | 347 | 196 | – | – | communication, Excel, analytical skills |
Buyer compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer | $100K | 3 years | 8,349 | – |
| Supply Chain Manager | $100K | 3 years | 4,489 | 18 |
| Contract Administrator | $110K | 4 years | 2,589 | 17 |
| Production Planner | $88K | 3 years | 1,708 | 18 |
| Logistics Manager | $70K | 3 years | 13,004 | 15 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Supply Chain Manager | 18 | $100K |
| Contract Administrator | 17 | $110K |
| Production Planner | 18 | $88K |
| Logistics Manager | 15 | $70K |
| Operations Manager | 16 | $85K |
| Trade Compliance Specialist | 17 | $76K |
Applying for buyer jobs?
- Buyer resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find buyer jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a buyer make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 19 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 17 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.