Travel agents

About

Travel agents are most often employed by the Travel arrangements & reservation services industry. The average yearly wage for Travel agents was $45,705 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Travel agents by wage are Wholesale & retail buyers, except farm products, Human resources assistants, except payroll & timekeeping, and Fishing and hunting workers.

Travel agents are part of the Sales & related occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of retail sales workers, Firstline supervisors of nonretail sales workers, Cashiers, Counter & rental clerks, Parts salespersons, and 13 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Travel agents are Spring Valley & Summerlin South PUMA, NV, Stratford, Shelton, Trumbull, Newtown & Monroe Towns PUMA, CT, and Arcadia, San Gabriel & Temple City Cities PUMA, CA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Travel agents are Snoqualmie City, Cottage Lake, Union Hill & Novelty Hill PUMA, WA, Northfield & New Trier Townships PUMA, IL, and Scottsdale City (Southwest) & Paradise Valley Town PUMA, AZ.

Photo by A.Davey

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Travel agents and on wages and locations for those in the field. Travel arrangements & reservation services is the industry that employs the most Travel agents, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Travel agents, by average wage, is Management of companies & enterprises. Travel agents are paid most in Boca Raton City & Highland Beach Town PUMA, FL but are relatively concentrated in Snoqualmie City, Cottage Lake, Union Hill & Novelty Hill PUMA, WA.

Yearly Wage

$45,705

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,831

In 2020, Travel agents earned an average of $45,705, $10,249 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Fishing and hunting workers make somewhat more than Travel agents while Wholesale & retail buyers, except farm products make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Travel agents as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.344

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Travel agents had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.344, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Travel agents (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Travel agents.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Travel agents

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Travel agents.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Travel agents, by number of employees, are Travel arrangements & reservation services, Nondepository credit & related activities, Water transportation, Air transportation, Traveler accommodation, Employment services, Banking & related activities, Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Business support services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Travel agents, by average wage, are Management of companies & enterprises, Other administrative & other support services, and Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services.

Industries by Share

64.1k

2020 Workforce

± 6,216

0.995%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 13.6%

The number of people employed as Travel agents has been growing at a rate of 0.995%, from 63,488 people in 2019 to 64,120 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Travel agents employed by various industries. Travel arrangements & reservation services employs the largest share of Travel agents at 89.1%, followed by Nondepository credit & related activities with 0.88% and Water transportation with 0.841%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Travel agents in the US. The average age of male Travel agents in the workforce is 46.7 and of female Travel agents is 50.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Travel agents is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

12.9k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 2,786

51.2k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 5,557

79.9% of Travel agents are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Travel agents.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Travel agents

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

70.7% of Travel agents are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 8.28% of Travel agents, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Travel agents.

Age by Sex

46.7

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 3.2

50.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.47

The median age of Travel agents is 49.7, and Male employees are generally 3.65 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Travel agents from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Travel agents is Business but a relatively high number of Travel agents hold a major in Language & Linguistics.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Travel agents from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Travel agents need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Service Orientation, and Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Travel agents need more than the average amount of Service Orientation, Persuasion, and Management of Financial Resources.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Travel Agents from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Travel Agents are expected to see a growth of −25.9% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

−25.9%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Travel Agents. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.

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