Earlier this year, in its “Talent Matters” microlearning series, the Texas A&M Talent Development Council identified ways industrial distribution company leaders can manage one of the biggest challenges facing the industry: uncertainty.
One of the suggestions offered by the team was that leaders “normalize the discomfort” of these scenarios, adding that the best ones “don’t eliminate uncertainty, they model how to operate within it,” resulting in a mindset that spreads quickly across the organization.
The advice is well-timed, as uncertainty seems to color every aspect of an industrial business — perhaps now more than ever. And while this variability envelops everything from supply chains and tariffs to pricing and technology, it’s perhaps most quietly impacting the distribution industry workforce.
We’ve seen changes when it comes to worker priorities, although there’s an important distinction to point out — the need for remote work, flexibility, benefits and the like haven’t necessarily replaced the need for high wages; they’ve simply been added to the mix.
Take, for example, a 2025 Randstad report, which noted that work-life balance and job security had edged out pay rates to become the top worker considerations. Despite this finding, the details were telling: the 26,000 workers surveyed across 35 countries by Randstad ranked these two areas highest, but they put pay at nearly the same level (within one percentage point).
The takeaway, then, is that while all these things matter, compensation matters as much as it ever did. And it’s still a component of work that’s often tied to emotion.
Each year, Industrial Distribution seeks to evaluate compensation trends within the industry and explore the biggest concerns – and highlights – cited by our subscribers.
The 2026 ID Salary Report is based on a survey distributed via email and conducted throughout the month of June. The results are divided into three categories based on how respondents classified their specific job functions.
The following findings are based on separate sets of data from Executives (Owner, Chairman, CEO, CFO, CIO, COO, President or VP); Mid-Level (non-sales) Management (Product, Operations, Branch and/or Purchasing); and Sales Representative/Manager. This year’s split of respondents came in at 39% executives, 33% mid-level management and 28% sales rep or sales management. Overall, 89% of respondents were male, and the pool’s age breakdown was split at 9% at 40 years old or younger; 20% at 41-50; 30% between 51-60; and 41% above age 60.
Executives
A 2026 Gallup poll surveyed over 18,000 U.S. workers across multiple industries and determined that 58% of them believed they were fairly compensated, while 30% believed they were not.
In the history of our survey, the distribution industry workforce tends to be more satisfied with their pay rates, though it depends on the category. Typically, the executive level leaders are the happiest with their pay — notably because it is the highest compensation and, often, they have the most control over it.
This year, 82% of our executive pool said they believe they are fairly compensated. This backslid a bit from a high water mark last year, when nearly every individual who took our 2025 survey said the same.
Perhaps the erosion this year comes from the fact that pay increases for this group declined a bit year-over-year. After 58% said they’d received a pay bump in 2025, just 43% said the same this year.
Throughout our survey’s history, the executive group tends to take more lumps during economic headwinds, though their status at the top of the food chain is often entrenched. This group also tends to share some common characteristics:
- 88% of this year’s survey pool is male, with an age range heavily skewed to the more experienced: just 20% of them report being below the age of 50, and 40% are 60-plus.
- Executives tend to be well-educated, and this year’s pool reflects that standard: 26% have at least some college under their belts, while nearly half boast a college degree or an advanced degree.
- Thirty percent supervise five or fewer employees, but most oversee six to 10 (35%) or 11 to 20 (22%).
- Many in this year’s respondent pool (75%) represent companies in the revenue bracket of $25 million or less in annual sales, with headquarters in the U.S. Northeast (27%), Midwest (27%) Southeast (18%), South (18%) and West (9%).
When it comes to variable pay for these executive team members, most point to attainable, motivating goals that yield bonuses, though more than a quarter describe these opportunities as “inconsistent,” with 7% calling them “unattainable.”
One interesting shift that has taken place between last year and this year is the executive group’s opinion of their company’s ability to offer competitive pay to recruit top talent. Last year, 84% said their company did an adequate job, compared to 59% who said the same today. This may indicate general fatigue with the job market and a lack of progress with ability to recruit and retain — something we hear anecdotally from many distributors.
Mid-Level Management
The mid-level (non-sales) managers represent a group that’s a bit more diverse in nature. For example:
- A quarter of these survey respondents are female.
- 12% are under 40, and 23% are aged 41-50. Around 44% are in the above 60 age group.
- The revenue brackets of their companies are split between $25 million to $100 million in annual sales (40%); $100 million to $500 million (30%) and less than $25 million (30%).
- 30% of the distributors represented are headquartered in the Northeast U.S., 30% in the Southeast, 20% in the West, and 10% each in the Midwest and South.
- 80% attest to carrying a college degree or an advanced degree, making them the most educated of any surveyed group.
The mid-level management group has gained ground this year when it comes to satisfaction with their compensation packages — a figure steadily increasing in the past few years. In fact, 70% of respondents within this category cited satisfaction with their current wages, which has ticked up gradually from a low of 37% who said the same in 2023.
So what is driving this improvement in sentiment? Salary increases, of course: this year, a resounding 90% of our mid-level management pool reported having received a compensation increase in the previous 12 months — more than any other job group in our survey. This comes on the heels of another strong year of wage gains for this group of workers, with 72% reporting a raise last year.
Most of those who received a raise (66%) characterized it as a standard increase, and another 30% said it was a cost-of-living bump. This raise is reflected in the earnings reported in our survey: with total compensation of $147,000 – including variable pay like bonuses – mid-level managers indicated an upward shift of about 7% over last year’s reported figures.
That said, the overall picture is muddied by the prospects these workers face going forward — in their minds, at least. This group seems to carry the most anxiety over potential cuts ahead; 40% say they have concerns they might face a reduction in pay next year, and another 10% are “unsure.”
Mid-level managers also believe that the demands of their jobs are increasing, with four in five saying they’d ramped up, and one in five saying they’d stayed the same.
The group is split on whether they feel their companies are paying well enough to be competitive when it comes to hiring top talent: half say yes, and half say no.
Sales and Sales Management
When we polled the respondents in the sales and sales management category last year, we found a group that was largely treading water. With just over one in three receiving a raise in the prior 12 months, just 59% told us at the time that they believed themselves to be fairly compensated.
This year’s surveyed group is fairly well-aligned with last year’s in terms of job function, with 53% describing their role as outside sales, and 31% saying it’s more inside sales (compared to 50% and 25% in 2025, respectively).
In a shift from last year, more sales reps/managers represent companies with higher annual revenues, with the largest slice (38%) hailing from companies with $100 million to $500 million in annual sales. Another 6% say their companies bring in $500 million or more.
Additionally:
- All of the respondents in this job category this year report that they are male — perhaps a survey first and, of course, not reflective of the general demographics of this industry job function.
- More than half (53%) hail from the Midwest. Southeastern U.S. companies made up another 18% and West another 13%. Interestingly, 13% of respondents noted that their company’s headquarters was internationally based.
- 53% describe their region’s cost of living as “average,” while 36% say it’s higher than average and just 12% contending it is lower than average.
More sales professionals this year (47%) reported receiving a raise in the last 12 months, although none of them described it as particularly robust. One-third characterized their bump as “a standard, merit-based pay raise,” while 56% said it was a cost-of-living increase tied to inflation.
One thing that doesn’t appear to have changed for the better is this group’s satisfaction with their compensation levels. Last year, this group was the least happy in the survey, but they were still happier than they are today: the 2026 group was divided evenly, with half feeling fairly compensated and half not.
In sales, we tend to see more variable pay with a heavier emphasis on commission or sales-based targets. Interestingly, this year, fewer than one in five described their commission as “consistent” and a large part of their earnings. In fact, 7% said it was a small amount of their earnings. Uniquely, about half of respondents reported that they don’t earn commission at all.
Meanwhile, 83% of these sales professionals contend that the demands of their jobs have increased in the past year. Although this is a common refrain in our survey every year, in all job categories, it’s certainly one we’ve had our eye on considering the quickly evolving slate of business tools rooted in AI — meant to reduce busywork and non-value-added activity.
Despite their misgivings over their current situation, this group does not appear to be too concerned about future pay cuts. Just 6% said they fear a pay reduction is coming in the near future, with 12% saying they’re unsure. What they’re more sure about is their company’s ability to pay well enough to compete for the industry’s top talent. While 50% or more in the other two job categories gave their companies props for their abilities, just 36% of sales professionals agreed that their firms met the bar on pay industry-wide.
Conclusion
Each year, the ID Salary Report reflects groups of distribution industry workers with varying levels of satisfaction when it comes to their pay. Regardless of the year, or the circumstances under which the survey is issued, there will always be those those who are generally satisfied, and those who will never be. But in the middle lies the group for which compensation can be a lever for improving job satisfaction in a meaningful way, and identifying those individuals – and assessing their value to you and your enterprise – may matter enough to take action based on this annual report. And taking note of those workers who have the highest impact but carry the most anxiety about their position and its prospects is perhaps a good place to start.
As an aside: while this report’s scope is limited to the front office and sales functions of our core readership, the rest of the team bears considering, as well – perhaps even more so. It’s vital to point out that warehouse workers, while not polled by us, have some of the highest rates of turnover in any industry, and that they also tend to be the lowest paid.
This report originally appeared in the July/August issue of Industrial Distribution magazine. Sign up here to subscribe to ID’s Today in Industrial Distribution daily newsletter.
