Service Advisor Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 6,430 US job postings by 1,700 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for service advisors: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 6,430 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for service advisors in US job postings is $65,000 a year (1,483 postings from 353 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $48,000 to $88,000.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $62,000 a year (266 postings).
- The skills that most set service advisor postings apart are customer service, manage others, customer satisfaction.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 2 years of experience.
Service Advisor job postings in the US, October 2026
- $65,000
- Median advertised pay (1,483 postings)
- $48,000–$88,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- $62,000
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 6,430
- US job postings from 1,700 employers
How much does a service advisor make?
The median advertised pay is $65,000 a year, from 1,483 US job postings by 353 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $102,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 1,483 US service advisor job postings: median $65,000 a year, middle half $48,000 to $88,000.
- Median: $65,000
- 25th percentile: $48,000
- 75th percentile: $88,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.4% |
| $30K–$40K | 11.4% |
| $40K–$50K | 15.3% |
| $50K–$60K | 12.2% |
| $60K–$70K | 14.1% |
| $70K–$80K | 10.1% |
| $80K–$90K | 12.2% |
| $90K–$100K | 9.1% |
| $100K–$110K | 8.0% |
| $110K–$120K | 2.3% |
| $120K–$130K | 2.1% |
| $130K–$140K | 1.4% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.1% |
| $150K–$160K | 0.2% |
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 | $20.75 | $17.47–$24.77 | 272 | Service Advisor, Service Writer, Automotive Service Advisor |
| Postings that state an annual salary | $80,000 | $62K–$95K | 570 | Automotive Service Advisor, Service Advisor, Automotive Service Manager |
| All pay postings, annualised | $65,000 | $48K–$88K | 1,483 | – |
What is the starting salary for a service advisor?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $62,000 a year (266 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $62,000 | 266 |
| 2-4 years | $70,000 | 642 |
| 5+ years | withheld | 28 |
Highest-paying service advisor jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Advisor (general) | $62,000 | 1,293 | 280 |
Service advisor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $50,000 | $48,000–$80,000 | 393 | 14.1% |
Skills employers ask for in service advisor job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 56% |
| Customer service | 34% |
| Organizational skills | 16% |
| Interpersonal skills | 16% |
| Attention to detail | 15% |
| Organized | 14% |
| Time management | 12% |
| Multitask | 11% |
| Positive attitude | 9% |
| Self-motivated | 8% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set service advisors apart
- Customer service3.5× as often as in all postings · 34%
- Manage others226× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Customer satisfaction43.5× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Friendly personality57.7× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Organized5× as often as in all postings · 14%
- Multitask5.1× as often as in all postings · 11%
- Computer skills3× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Basic computer skills3.3× as often as in all postings · 6%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a service advisor job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a service advisor do?
Employers post these jobs as Automotive Service Advisor, Service Writer, Automotive Service Manager, Automotive Store Manager, Express Service Advisor and other titles. The largest specializations are Automotive Service Manager (14%), Service Center Manager (2%), Warranty Administrator (under 1%), Service Manager (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Customer Service Representatives (43-4051.00). Its most important tasks:
- Confer with customers by telephone or in person to provide information about products or services, take or enter orders, cancel accounts, or obtain details of complaints.
- Keep records of customer interactions or transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, or comments, as well as actions taken.
- Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems.
- Contact customers to respond to inquiries or to notify them of claim investigation results or any planned adjustments.
- Determine charges for services requested, collect deposits or payments, or arrange for billing.
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 service advisor?
Among 959 postings that state a minimum, the median is 2 years. 0% say 0 years and 36% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 959 US service advisor job postings: median 2 years, and 36% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 2% |
| 1 yr | 35% |
| 2 yrs | 38% |
| 3-4 yrs | 18% |
| 5-7 yrs | 7% |
| 8-9 yrs | under 1% |
| 10+ yrs | under 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 98% of the 411 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a service advisor: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Service Advisor | 708 (41.6%) |
| Automotive Service Advisor | 401 (23.6%) |
| Service Writer | 144 (8.5%) |
| Automotive Service Manager | 104 (6.1%) |
| Automotive Store Manager | 47 (2.8%) |
| Express Service Advisor | 44 (2.6%) |
| Experienced Service Advisor | 44 (2.6%) |
| Automotive Service Writer | 43 (2.5%) |
| Experienced Automotive Service Advisor | 28 (1.7%) |
| Automotive General Manager | 23 (1.4%) |
| Automotive Assistant Manager | 21 (1.2%) |
| Automotive Service Advisor/Writer | 20 (1.2%) |
| Service Center Manager | 19 (1.1%) |
| Automotive Center Manager | 19 (1.1%) |
| Service Advisor/Writer | 18 (1.1%) |
| Ford Service Advisor | 16 (0.9%) |
| Internal Service Advisor | 13 (0.8%) |
| Customer Service Advisor | 12 (0.7%) |
| Assistant Service Advisor | 12 (0.7%) |
| Dealership Service Advisor | 11 (0.7%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Service advisor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Writer | 1,002 | 144 | – | – | communication, customer service, attention to detail |
Service Advisor compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Advisor | $65K | 2 years | 6,430 | – |
| Parts Counterperson | $21.50/hr | 2 years | 8,572 | 18 |
| Customer Service Representative | $19.00/hr | 1 year | 33,817 | 17 |
| Automotive Sales Consultant | $90K | 2 years | 6,167 | 12 |
| Retail Sales Associate | $17.24/hr | 1 year | 141,396 | 16 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Parts Counterperson | 18 | $21.50/hr |
| Customer Service Representative | 17 | $19.00/hr |
| Automotive Sales Consultant | 12 | $90K |
| Retail Sales Associate | 16 | $17.24/hr |
| Receptionist | 16 | $19.00/hr |
| Server | 14 | $16.90/hr |
Applying for service advisor jobs?
- Service advisor 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 service advisor jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a service advisor 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.