What Retail Salespersons earn in Travis County, TX
The median pay for Retail Salespersons in Travis County, TX is $33,860 per year, which works out to $16.28 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area, the labor market that Travis County, TX belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $36,160, which is 6.8% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 29,660 people working in this occupation across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Travis County, TX has roughly 1,330,015 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Retail Salespersons in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $25,380 a year ($12.20 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $46,100 or more ($22.16 an hour). That is a gap of $20,720 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $28,670 at the 25th percentile and $38,310 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.8 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $16.28 an hour or $33,860 a year at the median for Travis County, TX. Before any deductions, that is $2,822 a month, $1,302 every two weeks and $651 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.10 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Travis County, TX compares
Compared with the Texas average
A worker in this occupation in Travis County, TX earns $2,390 more than the Texas average of $31,470, a premium of 7.6%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,390 before tax and roughly $2,071 after tax. Within Texas, Travis County, TX already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Retail Salespersons earn an employment-weighted average of $34,080 across the contiguous United States, so $33,860 in Travis County, TX is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Travis County, TX
Among the 528 occupations with published wages in Travis County, TX, Retail Salespersons ranks number 510 by median pay, ahead of about 3% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $134,120 a year, which is $100,260 more than the median for Retail Salespersons.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Retail Salespersons earning the Travis County, TX median of $33,860, they add up to $4,525. The result is $29,335 of take-home pay a year ($2,445 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $13 goes to taxes and $87 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 13.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $18,110. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $1,935, an effective 5.7% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,099 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $491. FICA totals $2,590, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Texas
Texas does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Retail Salespersons in Travis County, TX is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $1,693 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $141 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Travis County, TX
IRS Statistics of Income data for Travis County, TX show an average adjusted gross income of $150,791 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 19.2% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 6.0%, compared with the 5.7% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Travis County, TX
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Travis County, TX: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $29,335 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Travis County, TX, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,530 a month ($18,360 a year), and at $1,817 for two bedrooms. For Retail Salespersons, a one-bedroom absorbs 62.6% of take-home pay and 54.2% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 10.1% of gross pay for Retail Salespersons in Travis County, TX. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Texas residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,578 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $719, for $2,297 in total. Gasoline in Texas averages $2.88 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,334.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $25,427 a year in Travis County, TX. Subtract that from $29,335 of take-home pay and $3,908 remains, which is $326 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 11.5% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Retail Salespersons afford to live in Travis County, TX?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $33,860 that ceiling is $846 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,530 is $684 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $29.42 an hour; the median for Retail Salespersons is $16.28, which is 45% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.10 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 25.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,817 a month means $909 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,458 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $11,366.
How fast you can save
At $326 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 31 months (2.6 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 62 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Retail Salespersons pay in Travis County, TX
How much do Retail Salespersons make per hour in Travis County, TX?
The median is $16.28 per hour, based on $33,860 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $12.20 at the 10th percentile to $22.16 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Retail Salespersons take home after taxes in Travis County, TX?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $33,860 becomes $29,335 a year. That is $2,445 a month, $1,128 every two weeks or $564 a week.
How much tax do Retail Salespersons pay in Travis County, TX?
Total taxes are $4,525 a year, an effective rate of 13.4%: $1,935 federal income tax, $2,590 FICA and no Texas income tax.
Do Retail Salespersons earn more in Travis County, TX than elsewhere in Texas?
Yes. The local median of $33,860 is +7.6% versus the Texas average of $31,470, a difference of $2,390 a year.
Can Retail Salespersons afford a one-bedroom apartment in Travis County, TX?
A one-bedroom costs $1,530 a month against take-home pay of $2,445, which is 62.6% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $846 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Retail Salespersons in Travis County, TX?
About $326 a month ($3,908 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $25,427 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Travis County, TX at the 30% guideline?
$29.42 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $18,360 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Retail Salespersons is $16.28.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Texas rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.