Sales Development Representative Salary (2026 Data)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 4,767 US job postings by 2,140 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for sales development representatives: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 4,767 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for sales development representatives in US job postings is $62,000 a year (1,367 postings from 626 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $50,000 to $80,000.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $65,000 a year (401 postings).
- The skills that most set sales development representative postings apart are Salesforce, coachable, zoominfo.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 1 year of experience.
Sales Development Representative job postings in the US, October 2026
- $62,000
- Median advertised pay (1,367 postings)
- $50,000–$80,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- $65,000
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 4,767
- US job postings from 2,140 employers
How much does a sales development representative make?
The median advertised pay is $62,000 a year, from 1,367 US job postings by 626 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $100,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 1,367 US sales development representative job postings: median $62,000 a year, middle half $50,000 to $80,000.
- Median: $62,000
- 25th percentile: $50,000
- 75th percentile: $80,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.7% |
| $30K–$40K | 5.0% |
| $40K–$50K | 17.9% |
| $50K–$60K | 18.6% |
| $60K–$70K | 18.8% |
| $70K–$80K | 11.9% |
| $80K–$90K | 10.4% |
| $90K–$100K | 6.5% |
| $100K–$110K | 4.4% |
| $110K–$120K | 1.9% |
| $120K–$130K | 1.7% |
| $130K–$140K | 0.3% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.7% |
| $150K–$160K | 0.7% |
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 | $21.00 | $20.00–$25.84 | 265 | Sales Development Representative, Appointment Setter, Lead Generator |
| Postings that state an annual salary | $68,000 | $57K–$85K | 860 | Sales Development Representative, Business Development Representative, Sales Development Representative (SDR) |
| All pay postings, annualised | $62,000 | $50K–$80K | 1,367 | – |
What is the starting salary for a sales development representative?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $65,000 a year (401 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $65,000 | 401 |
| 2-4 years | withheld | 166 |
| 5+ years | withheld | 21 |
Highest-paying sales development representative jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Development Representative | $66,000 | 414 | 248 |
| Sales Development Representative (general) | $60,000 | 731 | 347 |
Sales development representative 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 | $75,000 | $54,000–$91,000 | 163 | 14.5% |
Skills employers ask for in sales development representative job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 52% |
| Self-motivated | 18% |
| Organizational skills | 17% |
| Salesforce | 16% |
| Interpersonal skills | 14% |
| Time management | 12% |
| Coachable | 11% |
| Work independently | 11% |
| CRM | 11% |
| Customer service | 10% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set sales development representatives apart
- Salesforce19.6× as often as in all postings · 16%
- Coachable30.8× as often as in all postings · 11%
- Zoominfo113.3× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Hubspot37.4× as often as in all postings · 8%
- CRM13.9× as often as in all postings · 11%
- Self-motivated4.7× as often as in all postings · 18%
- Linkedin47.3× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Business development18.9× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Resilient26.7× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Competitive27.6× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Resilience18.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Sales9.8× 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 sales development representative job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a sales development representative do?
Employers post these jobs as Business Development Representative, Appointment Setter, Business Development Rep, Sales Development Representative (SDR), Lead Generator and other titles. The largest specializations are Business Development Representative (33%), Lead Qualifier (10%), Account Development Representative (2%), Sales Development Representative 1 (under 1%), Business Development Manager (m/f/d) (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel (41-3091.00). Its most important tasks:
- Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and provide ongoing support.
- Answer customers' questions about services, prices, availability, or credit terms.
- Develop sales presentations or proposals to explain service specifications.
- Create forms or agreements to complete sales.
- Contact prospective or existing customers to discuss how services can meet their needs.
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 sales development representative?
Among 1,573 postings that state a minimum, the median is 1 year. 7% say 0 years and 59% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,573 US sales development representative job postings: median 1 year, and 59% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 11% |
| 1 yr | 49% |
| 2 yrs | 25% |
| 3-4 yrs | 10% |
| 5-7 yrs | 3% |
| 8-9 yrs | under 1% |
| 10+ yrs | 1% |
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 86%, Part-time 14% of the 548 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a sales development representative: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Sales Development Representative | 789 (36.9%) |
| Business Development Representative | 677 (31.6%) |
| Appointment Setter | 100 (4.7%) |
| Business Development Rep | 66 (3.1%) |
| Sales Development Representative (SDR) | 65 (3.0%) |
| Lead Generator | 52 (2.4%) |
| Business Development Representative (BDR) | 41 (1.9%) |
| Sales Development Rep | 29 (1.4%) |
| Account Development Representative | 28 (1.3%) |
| Lead Generation Specialist | 25 (1.2%) |
| Enterprise Sales Development Representative | 22 (1.0%) |
| Senior Business Development Representative | 22 (1.0%) |
| Senior Sales Development Representative | 18 (0.8%) |
| Sales Development Associate | 17 (0.8%) |
| SDR | 15 (0.7%) |
| Business Development Sales Representative | 13 (0.6%) |
| Sales Lead Generator | 13 (0.6%) |
| Sales Business Development Representative | 12 (0.6%) |
| Enterprise Business Development Representative | 12 (0.6%) |
| Business Development Representative II | 11 (0.5%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Sales development representative 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Development Representative | 1,074 | 677 | $65K | 1 year | communication, self-motivated, organizational skills |
Sales Development Representative compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Development Representative | $62K | 1 year | 4,767 | – |
| Sales Representative | $80K | 2 years | 44,989 | 16 |
| Account Manager | $118K | 3 years | 24,657 | 15 |
| Business Development Manager | $142K | 5 years | 8,151 | 15 |
| Sales Manager | $120K | 4 years | 11,547 | 14 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Representative | 16 | $80K |
| Account Manager | 15 | $118K |
| Business Development Manager | 15 | $142K |
| Sales Manager | 14 | $120K |
| Sales Operations Manager | 11 | $130K |
| Medical Sales Representative | 13 | $100K |
Applying for sales development representative jobs?
- Sales development representative 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 sales development representative jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a sales development representative make?
How much does a Business Development Representative 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 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 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.