Business & Financial
Buyers & Purchasing Agents
SOC 13-1020
Choose suppliers and negotiate the terms a business runs on.
The job
Median pay
$78k
$61k to $101k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+6.0% projected
Openings a year
47k
BLS projection
Typical education
Bachelor's
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
10/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
53rd pct
More exposed than 53% of occupations · modeled estimate · 69th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
53/100
Key skills
- Negotiation
- Supplier management
- Forecasting
- Contracts
- Detail
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 48,010 | 2.6 | 0.8× | $83k |
| Texas | 44,030 | 3.1 | 1.0× | $76k |
| New York | 31,240 | 3.2 | 1.0× | $79k |
| Florida | 30,270 | 3.0 | 1.0× | $73k |
| Virginia | 22,120 | 5.4 | 1.7× | $89k |
| Ohio | 21,640 | 3.9 | 1.2× | $76k |
| Illinois | 19,660 | 3.2 | 1.0× | $78k |
| Pennsylvania | 17,430 | 2.9 | 0.9× | $74k |
| Michigan | 16,680 | 3.8 | 1.2× | $76k |
| Georgia | 15,710 | 3.2 | 1.0× | $75k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 15,400 | 4.3 | 1.4× | $85k |
| North Carolina | 14,290 | 2.9 | 0.9× | $76k |
| Massachusetts | 12,820 | 3.5 | 1.1× | $86k |
| New Jersey | 12,180 | 2.8 | 0.9× | $93k |
| Tennessee | 11,420 | 3.5 | 1.1× | $65k |
| Minnesota | 10,960 | 3.7 | 1.2× | $80k |
| Arizona | 10,870 | 3.4 | 1.1× | $75k |
| Indiana | 10,720 | 3.3 | 1.1× | $69k |
| Colorado | 10,080 | 3.5 | 1.1× | $84k |
| Wisconsin | 9,240 | 3.1 | 1.0× | $71k |
| Alabama | 8,960 | 4.2 | 1.3× | $74k |
| Maryland | 8,900 | 3.2 | 1.0× | $91k |
| Missouri | 8,070 | 2.7 | 0.9× | $66k |
| Oregon | 7,090 | 3.6 | 1.1× | $75k |
| Kansas | 6,470 | 4.5 | 1.4× | $70k |
| South Carolina | 6,150 | 2.7 | 0.8× | $76k |
| Connecticut | 5,530 | 3.3 | 1.0× | $83k |
| Kentucky | 5,440 | 2.7 | 0.9× | $65k |
| Oklahoma | 4,750 | 2.8 | 0.9× | $72k |
| Iowa | 4,570 | 2.9 | 0.9× | $70k |
| Arkansas | 4,510 | 3.5 | 1.1× | $76k |
| Utah | 4,090 | 2.4 | 0.8× | $75k |
| Louisiana | 3,440 | 1.8 | 0.6× | $66k |
| Nebraska | 2,850 | 2.8 | 0.9× | $75k |
| New Hampshire | 2,580 | 3.8 | 1.2× | $77k |
| Nevada | 2,310 | 1.5 | 0.5× | $73k |
| New Mexico | 2,250 | 2.6 | 0.8× | $77k |
| Mississippi | 2,240 | 1.9 | 0.6× | $72k |
| Washington DC | 1,880 | 2.7 | 0.8× | $124k |
| Rhode Island | 1,824 | 3.6 | 1.1× | $86k~ |
| Hawaii | 1,720 | 2.7 | 0.9× | $74k |
| Idaho | 1,610 | 1.9 | 0.6× | $69k |
| Delaware | 1,400 | 2.9 | 0.9× | $83k |
| Montana | 1,230 | 2.4 | 0.8× | $63k |
| Maine | 1,180 | 1.8 | 0.6× | $78k |
| South Dakota | 1,180 | 2.6 | 0.8× | $74k |
| West Virginia | 1,130 | 1.6 | 0.5× | $76k |
| Vermont | 1,010 | 3.3 | 1.1× | $65k |
| Alaska | 890 | 2.7 | 0.9× | $83k |
| North Dakota | 880 | 2.0 | 0.7× | $76k |
| Wyoming | 570 | 2.0 | 0.6× | $72k |
Top metro areas
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ29,360 jobs · $83k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA18,270 jobs · $83k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN14,260 jobs · $79k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV14,240 jobs · $105k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX14,160 jobs · $79k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX10,880 jobs · $76k median
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA10,450 jobs · $75k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH10,090 jobs · $93k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Buyers & Purchasing Agents interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.