Missouri·Management Occupations·SOC 11-2022

Best Sales Manager programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment

Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer.

59 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 7,296 people a year. The job pays a median of $115,370 in Missouri across about 7,630 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledSales ManagerSales DirectorDistrict Sales ManagerSales VP (Sales Vice President)Zone ManagerExport ManagerAccount ManagerArea Supervisor
Graduates / yr
7,296
in Missouri
Median pay · Missouri
$115,370
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
7,630
people employed
Schools
59
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
49%
across those schools
Median net price
$20,095
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Missouri that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Missouri page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0201In Missouri
3,651
50.0%
48$43,506$25,000
2
CIP 52.0101In Missouri
3,023
41.4%
23$44,700$24,000
3
CIP 52.1401In Missouri
622
8.5%
21$44,670$24,250

Top 25 schools in Missouri

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 39 of the 59 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Missouri - Columbia
Columbia, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
1,058Business/Commerce, General$55,99975%78%
2Missouri State University - Springfield
Springfield, MO Public · 3 feeder programs
525Business Administration and Management, General$40,96858%91%
3Webster University
Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
441Business Administration and Management, General$45,11964%$25,09086%
4Park University
Parkville, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
434Business Administration and Management, General$53,20138%$16,013
5University of Missouri - Kansas City
Kansas City, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
431Business/Commerce, General$48,60355%72%
6University of Missouri - St Louis
Saint Louis, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
419Business/Commerce, General$48,92857%63%
7Columbia College
Columbia, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
414Business/Commerce, General$48,32942%$23,247
8Lindenwood University
Saint Charles, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
324Business/Commerce, General$47,82149%$17,43657%
9Northwest Missouri State University
Maryville, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
300Business Administration and Management, General$43,67254%86%
10Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
291Business Administration and Management, General94%$14,12612%
11Southeast Missouri State University
Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
226Business Administration and Management, General$41,60458%74%
12Maryville University of Saint Louis
Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
216Business/Commerce, General66%$24,92195%
13Ozarks Technical Community College
Springfield, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
183Business Administration and Management, General$34,64433%
14University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
169Business Administration and Management, General$42,58854%64%
15Missouri Southern State University
Joplin, MO Public · 3 feeder programs
164Business/Commerce, General$44,26242%97%
16Rockhurst University
Kansas City, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
161Business Administration and Management, General$51,88775%$21,89070%
17Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
138Marketing/Marketing Management, General$42,72980%$24,88675%
18William Woods University
Fulton, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
106Business Administration and Management, General$40,01047%$22,20371%
19St Charles Community College
Cottleville, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
98Business Administration and Management, General25%
20Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies
Fayette, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
90Business/Commerce, General$39,4350%$14,53588%
21Missouri Western State University
Saint Joseph, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
87Business Administration and Management, General$41,90239%
22Missouri Baptist University
Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
81Business Administration and Management, General$42,46148%$25,40769%
23North Central Missouri College
Trenton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
78Business/Commerce, General58%
24Culver - Stockton College
Canton, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
59Business Administration and Management, General$41,98539%$21,26999%
25William Jewell College
Liberty, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
58Business Administration and Management, General$44,06468%$14,07238%

All 59 schools in Missouri

Every school in Missouri with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Missouri that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Missouri - ColumbiaColumbiaPublic1,0581
Missouri State University - SpringfieldSpringfieldPublic5253
Webster UniversitySaint LouisPrivate not-for-profit4412
Park UniversityParkvillePrivate not-for-profit4342
University of Missouri - Kansas CityKansas CityPublic4312
University of Missouri - St LouisSaint LouisPublic4192
Columbia CollegeColumbiaPrivate not-for-profit4143
Lindenwood UniversitySaint CharlesPrivate not-for-profit3242
Northwest Missouri State UniversityMaryvillePublic3002
Washington University in St LouisSt. LouisPrivate not-for-profit2912
Southeast Missouri State UniversityCape GirardeauPublic2262
Maryville University of Saint LouisSaint LouisPrivate not-for-profit2163
Ozarks Technical Community CollegeSpringfieldPublic1832
University of Central MissouriWarrensburgPublic1692
Missouri Southern State UniversityJoplinPublic1643

What sales managers earn in Missouri

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Missouri
$115,370
Mean annual
$133,530
Jobs in state
7,630
What the range looks like
10th pct$60,920Median$115,37090th pct$223,340
Versus the national median
-22.2%

U.S. median $148,270. Missouri pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.63×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Missouri

Kansas City, MO-KS
$159,990median
St. Louis, MO-IL
$123,870median
4,060 jobs
Jefferson City, MO
$121,840median
150 jobs
St. Joseph, MO-KS
$106,130median
120 jobs
Springfield, MO
$95,570median
590 jobs
Columbia, MO
$100,800median
170 jobs
Joplin, MO-KS
$98,020median
210 jobs
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
$98,810median
100 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.7%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
49,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
29,000
619,500 → 648,500
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Sales Managers page.

How to become a Sales Manager

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Active ListeningSpeakingMonitoringCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Missouri

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 5 majors mapped to Sales Managers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 19.0203Consumer Merchandising/Retailing Management
  • 51.2011Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management
  • 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
  • 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
  • 52.1401Marketing/Marketing Management, General

Common questions

Answers for people weighing sales managers programs in Missouri.

What degree do you need to become a Sales Manager?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 3,651 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 50.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Sales Manager?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Marketing. Together they graduate about 7,296 people a year in Missouri.

How much do sales managers earn in Missouri?+

The median is $115,370 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 22.2% below the U.S. median of $148,270. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for sales managers growing?+

BLS projects a +4.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 49,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+

59 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do sales managers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Sales Manager, Sales Director, District Sales Manager, Sales VP (Sales Vice President) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-2022.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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