What Buyers and Purchasing Agents earn in Wayne County, MI
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $80,300: the median annual pay for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $38.61 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $87,250, which is 8.7% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 8,140 people working in this occupation across the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Wayne County, MI has roughly 1,772,259 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $50,020 a year ($24.05 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $131,730 or more ($63.33 an hour). That is a gap of $81,710 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $62,190 at the 25th percentile and $104,430 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI is $38.61. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $80,300, and the same salary is $6,692 a month before taxes or about $3,088 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $29.75 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Buyers and Purchasing Agents
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products this way: "Purchase farm products either for further processing or resale. Includes tree farm contractors, grain brokers and market operators, grain buyers, and tobacco buyers. May negotiate contracts."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Purchase, for further processing or for resale, farm products, such as milk, grains, or Christmas trees"; "Negotiate contracts with farmers for the production or purchase of farm products"; "Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products"; "Arrange for transportation or storage of purchased products".
This BLS pay category covers several related O*NET occupations, among them Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products, Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products, Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products, so the wage figures describe the group as a whole.
Job outlook for Buyers and Purchasing Agents
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 516,100 jobs in 2025 to 547,000 in 2035, a change of +6%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 47,200 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 9.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $77,710 for this occupation; the Wayne County, MI median of $80,300 is 3.3% above it.
How pay in Wayne County, MI compares
Compared with the Michigan average
Wayne County, MI pays above the state benchmark. The Michigan employment-weighted average for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is $75,143; the local median of $80,300 beats it by $5,157, or 6.9%. Within Michigan, Wayne County, MI already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is $78,148 across the contiguous United States. At $80,300, Wayne County, MI pays $2,152 more, which is 2.8% 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 Wayne County, MI
Among the 590 occupations with published wages in Wayne County, MI, Buyers and Purchasing Agents ranks number 167 by median pay, ahead of about 72% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $170,040 a year, which is $89,740 more than the median for Buyers and Purchasing Agents.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $80,300 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $18,424 a year, which leaves $61,876, or $5,156 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 22.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $64,550. 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 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $9,115, an effective 11.4% of gross pay, well below the 22% 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 $4,979 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,164. FICA totals $6,143, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Michigan
Michigan income tax on this salary is $3,166 a year, or 3.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 35% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $264 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 Wayne County, MI
IRS Statistics of Income data for Wayne County, MI show an average adjusted gross income of $69,184 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.1% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 9.3%, compared with the 11.4% 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 Wayne County, MI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Wayne County, MI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $61,876 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Wayne County, MI is $1,167 a month, or $14,004 a year. A two-bedroom costs $1,459 a month. For Buyers and Purchasing Agents, a one-bedroom absorbs 22.6% of take-home pay and 17.4% 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 4.3% of gross pay for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Michigan residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,039 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $416, for $2,455 in total. Gasoline in Michigan averages $3.10 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,436.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $21,331 a year, 34% of take-home pay. That leaves $40,545 a year, or $3,379 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 50.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Wayne County, MI
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Wayne County, MI: 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 Wayne County, MI, set beside the Michigan and national medians.
Property taxes in Wayne County, MI
Homeowners in Wayne County, MI pay a median of $2,904 a year in real estate taxes, in line with the Michigan median of $2,904 and 7% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $178,500, the median tax bill is 1.63% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Buyers and Purchasing Agents median of $80,300, a tax bill of that size would equal 3.6% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Wayne County, MI
Renters in Wayne County, MI pay a median gross rent of $1,132 a month in the Census survey, in line with the Michigan median of $1,129. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,167 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 $178,500, 23% below the Michigan median of $231,600. Median household income is $60,539, 17% below the Michigan median of $72,875, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 23.1% of that income.
Commuting in Wayne County, MI
Workers in Wayne County, MI who travel to a workplace spend an average of 24.7 minutes each way, 2% above the Michigan average of 24.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.1 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 14.1% of workers in Wayne County, MI work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Buyers and Purchasing Agents afford to live in Wayne County, MI?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $80,300 that ceiling is $2,008 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,167 is $841 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.44 an hour; the median for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is $38.61, which is 72% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $29.75 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 9.1 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,459 a month means $730 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,250 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $45,795.
How fast you can save
At $3,379 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Buyers and Purchasing Agents pay in Wayne County, MI
What is the hourly wage for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI?
The median is $38.61 per hour, based on $80,300 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $24.05 at the 10th percentile to $63.33 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $80,300 becomes $61,876 a year. That is $5,156 a month, $2,380 every two weeks or $1,190 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI?
Total taxes are $18,424 a year, an effective rate of 22.9%: $9,115 federal income tax, $6,143 FICA and $3,166 Michigan income tax.
Is pay for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI above the Michigan average?
Yes. The local median of $80,300 is +6.9% versus the Michigan average of $75,143, a difference of $5,157 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Buyers and Purchasing Agents salary in Wayne County, MI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,167 a month against take-home pay of $5,156, which is 22.6% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,008 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Buyers and Purchasing Agents in Wayne County, MI?
About $3,379 a month ($40,545 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $21,331 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Wayne County, MI at the 30% guideline?
$22.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,004 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Buyers and Purchasing Agents is $38.61.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 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 Michigan 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.