Purchasing

Carry out the duties of this position in support of the agency's public mission.

2,243 people hold the Purchasing role across 25 departments in U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense), with a median total compensation of $55,883. Among 2 jurisdictions where this role is reported, U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) ranks #1 by median pay.

Employees: 2,243
Median pay: $55,883
Departments: 25
Cross-jurisdiction: #1 of 2

Compared with the local labor market

Purchasing pay vs. the United States

Across all employers in the United States, the median wage for Buyers and Purchasing Agents — about 491,430 people — is $77,710. U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) pays a median base salary of $55,883 for this role, 28% below that figure — about the 19th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$48,380

$60,800

$77,710

$100,820

$128,870

U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) median · $55,883

The bar is the range of annual wages for Buyers and Purchasing Agents across every employer in the United States, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

Computed over the 2,232 of 2,243 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) is $55,883, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare jurisdictions

Purchasing pay in other jurisdictions

Where Purchasings are paid most

New York Public Authorities

$22,491 · 10

Median total compensation for comparable Purchasing roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)