What Retail Salespersons earn in Ada County, ID
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $35,670: the median annual pay for Retail Salespersons in Ada County, ID. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $17.15 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Boise City, ID metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $37,510, which is 5.2% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 9,130 people working in this occupation across the Boise City, ID metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Ada County, ID has roughly 518,935 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 Boise City, ID metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $27,730 a year ($13.33 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $49,340 or more ($23.72 an hour). That is a gap of $21,610 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $29,630 at the 25th percentile and $38,850 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: $17.15 an hour or $35,670 a year at the median for Ada County, ID. Before any deductions, that is $2,973 a month, $1,372 every two weeks and $686 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.39 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Retail Salespersons
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Retail Salespersons this way: "Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs"; "Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices"; "Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment"; "Watch for and recognize security risks and thefts and know how to prevent or handle these situations".
Job outlook for Retail Salespersons
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to shrink from 3,998,100 jobs in 2025 to 3,984,100 in 2035, a change of -0.3%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 520,600 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 13.0% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $35,410 for this occupation; the Ada County, ID median of $35,670 is 0.7% above it.
How pay in Ada County, ID compares
Compared with the Idaho average
A worker in this occupation in Ada County, ID earns $1,348 more than the Idaho average of $34,322, a premium of 3.9%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,348 before tax and roughly $1,132 after tax. Within Idaho, Ada County, ID already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Retail Salespersons is $34,080 across the contiguous United States. At $35,670, Ada County, ID pays $1,590 more, which is 4.7% above that benchmark. 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 Ada County, ID
Among the 435 occupations with published wages in Ada County, ID, Retail Salespersons ranks number 404 by median pay, ahead of about 7% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Registered Nurses at $97,880 a year, which is $62,210 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 Ada County, ID median of $35,670, they add up to $5,729. The result is $29,942 of take-home pay a year ($2,495 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.1%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $19,920. 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 $2,152, an effective 6.0% 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 $2,212 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $517. FICA totals $2,729, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Idaho
Idaho income tax on this salary is $848 a year, or 2.4% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 39% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $71 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Ada County, ID
IRS Statistics of Income data for Ada County, ID show an average adjusted gross income of $103,578 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.2% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.5%, compared with the 6.0% 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 Ada County, ID
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Ada County, ID: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $29,942 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Ada County, ID, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,295 a month ($15,540 a year), and at $1,540 for two bedrooms. For Retail Salespersons, a one-bedroom absorbs 51.9% of take-home pay and 43.6% 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 9.6% of gross pay for Retail Salespersons in Ada County, ID. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Idaho residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,217 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $336, for $1,553 in total. Gasoline in Idaho averages $3.35 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,549.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $22,078 a year in Ada County, ID. Subtract that from $29,942 of take-home pay and $7,864 remains, which is $655 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 22.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Ada County, ID
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Ada County, ID: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Ada County, ID, set beside the Idaho and national medians.
Property taxes in Ada County, ID
Homeowners in Ada County, ID pay a median of $2,655 a year in real estate taxes, 30% above the Idaho median of $2,038 and 15% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $512,300, the median tax bill is 0.52% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Retail Salespersons median of $35,670, a tax bill of that size would equal 7.4% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Ada County, ID
Renters in Ada County, ID pay a median gross rent of $1,577 a month in the Census survey, 27% above the Idaho median of $1,238. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,295 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $512,300, 22% above the Idaho median of $418,600. Median household income is $91,502, 18% above the Idaho median of $77,800, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 17.0% of that income.
Commuting in Ada County, ID
Workers in Ada County, ID who travel to a workplace spend an average of 21.2 minutes each way, 2% below the Idaho average of 21.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 3.5 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 18.5% of workers in Ada County, ID work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Retail Salespersons afford to live in Ada County, ID?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $35,670 that ceiling is $892 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,295 is $403 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $24.90 an hour; the median for Retail Salespersons is $17.15, which is 31% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.39 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 20.8 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,540 a month means $770 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,300 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $14,164.
How fast you can save
At $655 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 16 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 32 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Retail Salespersons pay in Ada County, ID
How much do Retail Salespersons make per hour in Ada County, ID?
The median is $17.15 per hour, based on $35,670 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $13.33 at the 10th percentile to $23.72 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Retail Salespersons take home after taxes in Ada County, ID?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $35,670 becomes $29,942 a year. That is $2,495 a month, $1,152 every two weeks or $576 a week.
How much tax do Retail Salespersons pay in Ada County, ID?
Total taxes are $5,729 a year, an effective rate of 16.1%: $2,152 federal income tax, $2,729 FICA and $848 Idaho income tax.
Do Retail Salespersons earn more in Ada County, ID than elsewhere in Idaho?
Yes. The local median of $35,670 is +3.9% versus the Idaho average of $34,322, a difference of $1,348 a year.
Can Retail Salespersons afford a one-bedroom apartment in Ada County, ID?
A one-bedroom costs $1,295 a month against take-home pay of $2,495, which is 51.9% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $892 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Retail Salespersons in Ada County, ID?
About $655 a month ($7,864 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $22,078 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Ada County, ID at the 30% guideline?
$24.90 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $15,540 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Retail Salespersons is $17.15.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Boise City, ID 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 Idaho 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.