Capital and durable medical equipment sales reps earn some of the highest salaries in medical sales. According to the 2015 Medical Sales Salary Report, the average medical equipment sales salary is $153,885 (Med. $155,000), coming in just slightly lower than the average medical device sales salary.

About the Survey

The 5^th Annual Medical Sales Salary Survey collected responses from more than 3,000 medical sales professionals. Respondents answered questions about their current income as well as other factors such as what type of products they sell, what type and size of company they work for, how much they travel, how much experience they have, and more. Even things such as age and gender were considered in order to evaluate which factors have the greatest impact on medical sales salaries.

All medical products and services are not created equal. In fact, the type of product a professional sells is one of the most influential factors on income. Health IT and healthcare software command the highest earnings in medical sales, while home health services and hospice care found spots at the bottom. Capital medical equipment sales salaries fell into the top 5.

Average Medical Equipment Sales Salary by Job Title and Company Size

Sales directors and VPs earn the highest medical equipment sales salaries ($215,000), though average sales manager salaries aren’t far behind ($202,368). However, nearly three-fourths of all capital equipment respondents are field sales reps and the average medical equipment sales rep salary is $147,320. Most respondents are employed by medical equipment manufacturers, and the numbers indicate that medium and large-sized manufacturers pay more than smaller manufacturers.

Average Medical Equipment Sales Rep Salary by Age and Experience

Capital equipment sales professionals in their forties earn significantly more money than professionals in any other age group, reporting an average total capital equipment sales salary of $177,456. When looking at medical equipment salaries by experience, professionals with 11-20 years earn significantly more than those with more or less experience. However, after five year of experience the average income jumps considerably.

Travel & Medical Equipment Sales Rep Earnings

Professionals who spend more than half of their time travelling earn significantly more than those who spend less. Professionals who travel 75% of the time or more earn the most at $174,762, and this group accounts for 10% of respondents. The amount of travel required by capital equipment sales jobs varies, as respondents were pretty evenly spread among the remaining groups.

Average Income for Medical Equipment Reps by Gender

Women are underrepresented in all areas of medical sales, so the fact that men account for 81% of capital equipment respondents shouldn’t be all that surprising. The income disparity between men and women working in capital equipment sales jobs is also not surprising, though it should be cause for concern. The average medical equipment salary reported by women ($128,378) is just 79% of the income reported by men ($162,972). Consistent with the other reports, the primary explanation for the discrepancy may be the fact that very few women hold the higher paying job titles sales director, VP, or manager. However, in no other product category was this disparity so extreme. While 29 men in our survey held the highest-paying job titles of sales director, sales VP or sales manager; only 1 woman held 1 of these titles (sales manager).

Year-Over-Year Capital Equipment Sales Salaries

Capital medical equipment sales salaries are on the rise. The 2015 average medical equipment sales salary was up 7% from the 2014 figure, however, the average base salary was down by almost the same percentage. This means commissions and bonuses for capital equipment sales professionals increased considerably – by 20%! Does this reflect a shift in how capital equipment sales reps are paid? Only time will tell.

Conclusion

Capital equipment sales professionals continue to earn impressive incomes, and the jobs come with a variety of perks such as company cars (28%), car allowances (57%), expense accounts (76%), stock options (28%), matching 401ks (75%) and more. Innovation continues to guide this competitive field and there is no indication that the growth will slow down any time soon, so it’s a great time to work in capital equipment sales jobs.