Chooses which clothing, shoes, and accessories a retailer will sell each season, negotiating with brands and managing a sales budget. BLS does not publish separate figures for wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products; it counts them within wholesale and retail buyer, except farm products (SOC 13-1022), whose median pay is $77,710 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- SOC 13-1022
- Business and Financial Operations
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Fashion Buyer in four numbers
- Median pay
- $77,710a year, or $37.36/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $48KTop 10% $129K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +6.0%Faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+6%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +6% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 47,200516,100 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 2025516.1K
- Projected 2035547K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 516.1K Projected 2035 547K - Typical education
- Bachelor'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
Also advertised as: Apparel Buyer, Assistant Buyer, Merchandise Buyer, Womenswear Buyer, Accessories Buyer.
Pay
How much do Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products make?
Every fashion buyer in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$77,710
Middle half earn $60,800 to $100,820
- 10th
- $48,380
- 25th
- $60,800
- 75th
- $100,820
- 90th
- $128,870
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $48,380 |
| 25th | $60,800 |
| Median | $77,710 |
| 75th | $100,820 |
| 90th | $128,870 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $77,710
- Median hourly wage
- $37.36/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $83,770
- People employed
- 491,430
Versus all US occupations
At $77,710, Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products earn 52% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $26,730 a year.
Versus business and financial operations occupations
Inside the Business and Financial Operations group, where the middle occupation pays $80,730, this is 4% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $128,870 or more while the bottom 10% earn $48,380, a gap of 2.7×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 54% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
District of Columbia pays the most at $124,090, and still leads at $112,911 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1District of Columbia | $124,090 | $112,911 | 1,880 |
| 2New Jersey | $93,250 | $85,704 | 12,180 |
| 3Maryland | $90,900 | $86,605 | 8,900 |
| 4Virginia | $89,210 | $88,236 | 22,120 |
| 5Rhode Island | $86,240 | $84,318 | N/A |
| 6Massachusetts | $85,970 | $81,290 | 12,820 |
| 7Washington | $85,130 | $79,551 | 15,400 |
| 8Colorado | $83,590 | $81,114 | 10,080 |
| 9Alaska | $83,460 | $81,537 | 890 |
| 10Connecticut | $83,030 | $80,137 | 5,530 |
Job outlook
Is Fashion Buyer a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Faster than average. +6.0% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products | +6% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Faster than average
BLS projects employment of Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products to change 6.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 30,800 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 47,200 openings are projected each year, 9.1% of the 516,100 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Fashion Buyer
Most fashion buyers have a bachelor's degree in fashion merchandising, fashion business management, business, or marketing. Programs such as the Fashion Business Management degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology combine retail math, product development, and buying. Internships at retailers are a common way in.
The usual career path starts as an allocation analyst, merchandise assistant, or assistant buyer, then associate buyer, then buyer for a category. Strong numbers skills, especially comfort with sales reports and spreadsheets, matter as much as taste.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Some preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
The work
What does a Fashion Buyer do?
A fashion buyer decides what a store or e-commerce site will carry. Each season they review sales history, study trends, and attend market weeks and showrooms to see collections. They select styles, colors, and sizes, negotiate costs, delivery dates, and terms with vendors, and place orders within an open-to-buy budget.
After products arrive, buyers watch sales closely. They decide when to reorder best sellers, when to mark down slow items, and how to promote key looks with marketing and visual teams. Buyers at private label retailers also work with designers and product developers on the company's own lines.
Day-to-day tasks
- Analyze past sales and trends to plan seasonal assortments
- Attend market weeks, showrooms, and trade shows
- Select styles, colors, and size ranges for the store
- Negotiate costs, delivery dates, and terms with vendors
- Manage open-to-buy budgets and order quantities
- Decide reorders and markdowns based on sales
- Work with marketing and visual teams on promotions
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Fashion buyers work in retail corporate offices, often in major fashion cities. The schedule follows the fashion calendar, with busy market weeks and travel to showrooms, trade shows, and sometimes overseas vendors. Deadlines are frequent, and much of the day is spent analyzing reports and in meetings.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayOutdoors in all weather
NeverEvery day
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeStanding
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantConstant contact with other people.
Face-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayFace-to-face discussions every day.
Dealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayConflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Active Listening3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.6
- Active Learning3.4
- Monitoring3.4
- Writing3.1
- Mathematics3.1
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.9 |
| Speaking | 3.9 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.6 |
| Active Learning | 3.4 |
| Monitoring | 3.4 |
| Writing | 3.1 |
| Mathematics | 3.1 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Negotiation4.0
- Persuasion3.9
- Judgment and Decision Making3.4
- Coordination3.3
- Social Perceptiveness3.1
- Complex Problem Solving3.1
- Service Orientation3.0
- Management of Financial Resources3.0
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Negotiation | 4.0 |
| Persuasion | 3.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.4 |
| Coordination | 3.3 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 |
| Service Orientation | 3.0 |
| Management of Financial Resources | 3.0 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Development environment software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Project management software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Web page creation and editing software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Fashion Buyer?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code ECA) built on O*NET's Wholesale and Retail Buyer, Except Farm Products profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Fashion Buyer |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 3 |
| Investigative | 2 |
| Artistic | 3 |
| Social | 2 |
| Enterprising | 5 |
| Conventional | 5 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around leading, persuading, selling and making decisions, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
- Enterprising5.5
- Conventional5.2
- Realistic3.4
- Artistic2.5
- Social2.5
- Investigative1.9
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Fashion Buyer
O*NET related occupations
- Business and Financial Operations
Wholesale and Retail Buyer, Except Farm Products
$77,710median a year
Most earn $48K to $129K
+6.0%Bachelor's - Business and Financial Operations
Purchasing Agent, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
$77,710median a year
Most earn $48K to $129K
+6.0%Bachelor's - Office and Administrative Support
- Business and Financial Operations
- Management
- Sales and Related
Security, Commodity, and Financial Services Sales Agent
$78,660median a year
Most earn $48K to $213K
+1.4%Bachelor's
More business and financial operations careers
Median annual pay, with wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products highlighted
- Financial Advisor$105,070
- Accountant$83,680
- Insurance Underwriter$81,370
- Coroner$80,730
- Claims Adjuster, Examiner, and Investigator$78,000
- Fashion Buyer$77,710
- Loan Officer$76,690
- Human Resources Specialist$75,940
- Appraiser and Assessor of Real Estate$67,960
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Financial Advisor | $105,070 |
| Accountant | $83,680 |
| Insurance Underwriter | $81,370 |
| Coroner | $80,730 |
| Claims Adjuster, Examiner, and Investigator | $78,000 |
| Fashion Buyer | $77,710 |
| Loan Officer | $76,690 |
| Human Resources Specialist | $75,940 |
| Appraiser and Assessor of Real Estate | $67,960 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Fashion Buyer appears on
Questions
Fashion Buyer: frequently asked questions
How much do Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products. It counts them within wholesale and retail buyer, except farm products, whose median pay is $77,710 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $60,800 and $100,820, and the top 10% earn $128,870 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Fashion Buyer?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as some preparation. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training.
Is Fashion Buyer a growing career?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 6.0% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 47,200 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Fashion Buyer do?
A fashion buyer decides what a store or e-commerce site will carry. A typical task: analyze past sales and trends to plan seasonal assortments. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Development environment software.
Which states pay Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products the most?
The highest state medians for Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products are District of Columbia ($124,090), New Jersey ($93,250), Maryland ($90,900) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Fashion Buyer?
O*NET scores Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products highest on the Enterprising, Conventional and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes leading, persuading, selling and making decisions with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ESTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.