SOC 41-3041.00

    Travel Agents

    Plan and sell transportation and accommodations for customers.

    Median pay
    $50,160
    Growth
    +0.2%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    5,900
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $34,610
    Median
    $50,160
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $76,660
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    55,110 people work in this occupation.

    What travel agents do

    Job Zone 3: Medium preparation

    Plan and sell transportation and accommodations for customers. Determine destination, modes of transportation, travel dates, costs, and accommodations required. May also describe, plan, and arrange itineraries and sell tour packages. May assist in resolving clients' travel problems.

    Usually vocational training, an associate degree or related experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    2 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    9 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    15 / 100
    Social (S)
    55 / 100
    Enterprising (E) · strongest
    80 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    80 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code ECS. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Working with Computers
    90
    Getting Information
    89
    Communicating with People Outside the Organization
    81
    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    77
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    73
    Processing Information
    72
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    70
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    70
    Documenting/Recording Information
    69
    Performing Administrative Activities
    69
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Service Orientation
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Persuasion
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Active Learning
    • Coordination
    • Critical Thinking

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service
    • English Language
    • Sales and Marketing
    • Geography
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Administrative
    • Telecommunications
    • Transportation
    • Administration and Management
    • Communications and Media

    Abilities

    • Speech Recognition
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Speech Clarity
    • Near Vision
    • Oral Expression
    • Written Comprehension
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Information Ordering
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Selective Attention

    Work styles

    • Social Orientation
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Cooperation
    • Integrity
    • Optimism
    • Adaptability
    • Empathy
    • Initiative
    • Self-Confidence

    Also called

    Auto Travel Counselor · Beach Expert · Booking Agent · Business Travel Consultant · Certified Travel Counselor · Corporate Travel Agent · Corporate Travel Consultant · Corporate Travel Counselor · Corporate Travel Expert · Destination Specialist

    Career pathway

    From your interests to travel agents

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Travel Agents$50,160 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1Baylor University logo
      Baylor University

      Waco, TX · General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $85,374
      4 yrs after
      $125,167
      Median debt
      $21,375
    2. 2Texas A & M University-College Station logo
      Texas A & M University-College Station

      College Station, TX · General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $72,444
      4 yrs after
      $93,141
      Median debt
      $18,458
    3. 3
      Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

      Bowling Green, OH · General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $63,510
      4 yrs after
      $86,245
      Median debt
      $22,625
    4. 4Weber State University logo
      Weber State University

      Ogden, UT · General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $73,639
      4 yrs after
      $82,549
      Median debt
      $15,668
    5. 5Purdue University-Main Campus logo
      Purdue University-Main Campus

      West Lafayette, IN · General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $66,112
      4 yrs after
      $82,441
      Median debt
      $19,043
    6. 6University of Wisconsin-Madison Main Campus logo
      University of Wisconsin-Madison Main Campus

      Madison, WI · General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $58,551
      4 yrs after
      $82,081
      Median debt
      $14,567
    7. 7Saint Joseph's University logo
      Saint Joseph's University

      Philadelphia, PA · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $62,952
      4 yrs after
      $80,764
      Median debt
      $24,335
    8. 8Kennesaw State University logo
      Kennesaw State University

      Kennesaw, GA · General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $77,431
      4 yrs after
      $79,147
      Median debt
      Not reported

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What travel agents may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Selling Skills and Sales Operations
    • Tourism and Travel Services Marketing Operations

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    1 state lists a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.