Purchasing Managers
SOC 11-3061 · 2024-2034
Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of buyers, purchasing officers, and related workers involved in purchasing materials, products, and services. Includes wholesale or retail trade merchandising managers and procurement managers.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $162,511per year
- Projected openings
- 5,980
- Projected change
- +3.9%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Speaking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $198,116 | 510 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $172,734 | 450 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $169,564 | 490 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $161,826 | 20 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $158,943 | 650 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $152,013 | 30 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $150,907 | 20 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $150,907 | 30 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $150,459 | 50 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $146,507 | 60 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $145,916 | 230 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $144,756 | 740 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $144,719 | 1,470 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $143,523 | 20 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $141,272 | 60 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $138,664 | 90 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $135,028 | 470 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $131,321 | 60 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $127,277 | 90 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $126,106 | 70 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $101,230
- A quarter earn under
- $127,097
- Half earn under
- $162,511
- Three quarters earn under
- $199,919
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $245,389
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procurement Clerks | $57,489 | 5,540 | -6.9% |
| Logisticians | $94,448 | 38,460 | +19.5% |
| Sales Managers | $137,173 | 88,500 | +2.9% |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $125,857 | 29,110 | +11.9% |
Programs that train for this job — 2
Purchasing Certificate (Online)
California State University, Dominguez Hills · Carson · $3,304
Contract Management (Online)
UC Irvine Continuing Education · Irvine · $5,235