How Much Should You Pay a VP of Sales in 2026?

Of 1,349 executive sales postings tracked by The CRO Report, 704 disclose base compensation. The average VP of Sales base sits at $167,295 to $251,443. CROs average $231,873 to $302,246. Those numbers give you a starting point, but the real answer depends on your company stage, your metro, and the seniority level you actually need. This article breaks all three down with the full dataset.

If you're a CEO or founder building a budget for your first (or next) sales leader, the ranges below reflect what companies are posting right now, not survey data, not self-reported numbers, and not recruiter estimates. These are from live job postings with disclosed compensation.

The Short Answer (by Seniority Level)

Before you get into the variables, here's the top-level view. Base salary ranges shift materially by title, and the title you're hiring for should be your first filter.

The CRO Report's compensation database, built from 12,000+ real job postings, shows VP Sales base salary ranges vary by up to 40% between the highest-paying metros (San Francisco, New York) and the national median.

Seniority	Roles	Avg Base Range	Median Range
VP	636	$167,295 - $251,443	$159,200 - $220,500
SVP	37	$202,153 - $262,432	$182,400 - $270,000
CRO / C-Level	26	$231,873 - $302,246	$220,450 - $263,750
EVP	5	$248,000 - $292,000	--

The VP tier at 636 roles is where the overwhelming majority of the market sits. The full VP Sales salary breakdown has more detail on distribution, but the average of $167K to $251K gives you the budgeting frame. Median pulls lower ($159K to $220K), which tells you the distribution skews right. A smaller number of high-paying roles at public companies and late-stage startups pull the average up.

SVP adds roughly $35,000 to $11,000 on top of VP averages, depending on which end of the range you measure. The SVP title typically appears at companies large enough to have a VP layer already in place, or companies that use SVP as their primary sales leader title from the start.

CRO and C-level roles command the highest base, averaging $231K to $302K. The CRO salary breakdown covers that tier in depth. The CRO title typically carries broader scope than VP Sales, often including marketing, customer success, and revenue operations. The comp premium reflects that expanded responsibility.

EVP at 5 roles is too small a sample to draw conclusions, but the range of $248K to $292K lands between SVP and CRO, which is directionally consistent with where you'd expect it.

The full range across the VP tier runs from $200 to $1,000,000 in base. That span is real but misleading. The bottom end reflects roles that are likely equity-heavy with minimal base, or data entry errors in job postings. The top end reflects C-suite roles at large public companies that carry VP in the title. The middle of the distribution is where most of your hiring decisions will land.

Company Stage Is the Biggest Variable

More than title, more than metro, company stage drives the widest variation in what companies pay their sales leaders. A Series A startup and a public enterprise company are hiring fundamentally different roles, and the comp reflects that.

Company Stage	Roles	Avg Base Range
Seed / Series A	14	$192,955 - $257,169
Series A/B	38	$147,289 - $183,553
Series B/C	30	$164,710 - $226,373
Series C/D	79	$222,046 - $314,444
Late Stage	27	$224,635 - $318,772
Enterprise / Public	195	$171,438 - $264,592

The most counterintuitive finding: Seed/Series A roles ($192K to $257K) pay more in base than Series A/B roles ($147K to $183K). The likely explanation is selection bias. Companies at the earliest stage that are already posting VP Sales roles with disclosed salary tend to be well-funded, often with experienced repeat founders who know what the role costs. Series A/B companies, with a larger sample of 38 roles, include a wider mix of companies, some of which are stretching to make the hire and offering more equity in lieu of base.

The jump from Series B/C ($164K to $226K) to Series C/D ($222K to $314K) is the steepest in the dataset, roughly $57,000 at the low end and $88,000 at the high end. That's the inflection point where companies have product-market fit, growing revenue, and institutional investors who expect a proven sales leader. The budget reflects it. For a deeper look at the startup vs. enterprise split, see the startup vs. enterprise comp comparison.

Late Stage ($224K to $318K) and Series C/D ($222K to $314K) are nearly identical. Once a company reaches late-stage growth, the base converges around the $220K to $315K band. The differentiation at that level happens in variable comp, equity, and total package structure rather than base.

Enterprise/Public companies at 195 roles show a wide range ($171K to $264K) because "Enterprise/Public" covers everything from a mid-cap public company to a Fortune 100. The average masks real variation. A VP Sales at a $500M-revenue public SaaS company and a VP Sales at a $50B conglomerate are operating in different worlds, even if both carry the same title.

What this means for your budget

If you're a Series A company hiring your first VP Sales, plan for $150K to $190K in base with a meaningful equity package on top. If you're Series C or later, the base floor is $220K and the ceiling can approach $315K before variable comp. Trying to hire a Series C-caliber leader at Series A/B pricing will either extend your search or land you a candidate who's stepping down in scope.

Metro Adjustments You Can't Ignore

Geography still matters. Even in a market where 311 of 704 salary-disclosed roles are remote, where the role is located (or where the company is headquartered) moves the number.

Metro	Roles	Avg Base Range
San Francisco	18	$244,452 - $347,218
Seattle	8	$200,909 - $296,696
Boston	26	$201,227 - $282,527
Atlanta	15	$193,255 - $275,822
Denver	9	$192,784 - $254,067
New York	58	$180,780 - $250,499
Texas	33	$157,863 - $260,065
Los Angeles	13	$169,762 - $236,238
Chicago	20	$151,832 - $222,485
Remote	73	$151,533 - $217,341

San Francisco leads at $244K to $347K, and it's not close. The low end of the SF range ($244K) exceeds the high end of Chicago ($222K) and Remote ($217K). If you're an SF-based company budgeting for a local hire, using national averages will leave you underfunded by $70,000 to $100,000 on the high end.

Seattle ($200K to $296K) and Boston ($201K to $282K) form a second tier. Both are tech-heavy metros with deep pools of enterprise sales leadership talent. Atlanta ($193K to $275K) runs closer to these two than you might expect, reflecting the growth of Atlanta's tech and SaaS ecosystem over the past five years.

New York at 58 roles is the largest metro sample in the dataset, and its range of $180K to $250K sits in the middle of the pack. New York's cost of living would suggest higher comp, but the large sample likely includes roles across a broader range of company sizes and stages. New York also has a deeper talent pool for sales leadership than most other metros, which moderates pricing pressure.

Texas ($157K to $260K) shows the widest spread of any metro, nearly $103,000 between low and high. Texas aggregates Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, each with different cost profiles and industry concentrations. Austin skews higher (tech), Houston skews toward energy-adjacent sales, and Dallas covers a broad enterprise base.

Chicago ($151K to $222K) and Remote ($151K to $217K) anchor the bottom of the metro table. Chicago's lower positioning reflects its traditionally lower cost structure for sales leadership, though the city has a strong base of enterprise SaaS companies. The Remote number deserves its own section.

Remote vs. On-Site: The Comp Difference Is Smaller Than You Think

The headline numbers on remote vs. on-site compensation are closer than most people assume.

Work Model	Roles	Avg Base Range
Remote	311	$175,886 - $259,173
On-Site	393	$169,077 - $250,238

Remote roles average $175,886 to $259,173. On-site roles average $169,077 to $250,238. The gap is $6,809 at the low end and $8,935 at the high end, with remote paying more in both cases.

That result surprises people who expected a remote discount. The likely explanation: companies that hire remote sales leaders are drawing from a national (or global) talent pool and pricing against that broader market. On-site roles can anchor to local market rates, and many on-site postings are in metros that fall below the top tier, like Chicago, certain Texas cities, or smaller markets that don't appear in the metro table at all.

There's also a composition effect. Remote roles skew toward later-stage and enterprise companies that have the infrastructure to support distributed leadership. Those companies tend to pay more regardless of work model.

If you're building a comp package for a remote VP Sales role, don't apply a discount. The data doesn't support one. Budget at or slightly above your on-site range, and you'll be competitive.

One additional cut: Non-Tech companies (668 roles) average $172,881 to $256,464 in base, while Tech companies (36 roles) average $157,317 to $211,903. Tech companies in this dataset pay less in base, likely because they compensate more heavily in equity. If you're a tech company, your base may be below the non-tech average, but your total comp package (base + variable + equity) should be competitive with the full market.

The 54.8% Problem: What Hiding Salary Costs You

Of 1,349 executive sales postings in our dataset, only 704 disclose base salary. That's a 54.8% transparency rate, which means 45.2% of companies posting VP Sales, SVP, and CRO roles choose not to share what they'll pay.

Some of this is driven by state law. Colorado, New York, California, Washington, and several other states now require salary disclosure in job postings. Companies based in or hiring into those states disclose because they have to. Companies in states without transparency laws often don't.

But the non-disclosure choice has costs.

First, you lose candidates at the top of the funnel. Senior sales leaders, especially those currently employed and passively exploring, will skip postings without comp ranges. They've been through enough interview processes that ended in a comp mismatch to avoid wasting time on ambiguous postings. The candidates with the most options are the ones most likely to self-select out.

Second, non-disclosure extends time-to-fill. Without a published range, every initial conversation includes a comp calibration step. That adds a week or more to the process when a candidate's expectations don't align with the budget. Multiply that across 15 to 20 candidates in a VP Sales search, and you've added meaningful time to the process.

Third, the information asymmetry works against you now. Candidates can see disclosed ranges at competing companies through our data, through state-mandated disclosures, and through platforms that aggregate comp data. If your competitors are posting $200K to $280K and you're posting "competitive compensation," candidates will assume you're below market. Whether that's true or not, it shapes perception.

If you're hiring a VP Sales in 2026, disclose the range. The data supports it, the market expects it, and the candidates you want to attract will prioritize transparent postings.

Common Budgeting Mistakes

After tracking 1,349 executive sales postings and talking to founders, CEOs, and boards about sales leadership comp, the same errors come up repeatedly.

Using national averages in a premium metro

The overall VP base average is $167K to $251K. San Francisco's average is $244K to $347K. If you're hiring in SF and budgeting based on the national number, you'll either lose every top candidate or hire someone who accepted below-market comp, which creates a retention problem six months later. Always start with metro-specific data. The national average is useful for remote roles and broad benchmarking, not for local hiring.

Underpaying for the stage

The jump from Series A/B ($147K to $183K) to Series C/D ($222K to $314K) is one of the largest in the dataset. Companies that have raised a Series C but try to hire at Series A/B comp are fighting their own funding stage. Your investors priced the round assuming you'd hire experienced leaders at market rates. A VP Sales who accepts $60K below the stage-appropriate range is either desperate, a bad fit, or will leave when a market-rate offer appears.

Treating VP and CRO as interchangeable titles

The $64K gap at the low end between VP ($167K) and CRO ($231K) avg base isn't just a title difference. CROs carry broader scope. If you need someone to own sales only, hire a VP Sales and pay VP rates. If you need someone to own sales, marketing, customer success, and revenue operations, that's a CRO, and the comp should reflect the expanded scope. Posting a CRO role at VP pay attracts VP-caliber candidates who want the title upgrade, not CRO-caliber leaders.

Ignoring variable comp structure

This article focuses on base salary because that's what's consistently disclosed in job postings. But base is only half the picture for most VP Sales roles. A common structure is 50/50 (base equals target variable), though the split varies. A $200K base with a $200K variable target is a $400K OTE package. Make sure your total comp philosophy is competitive, not just your base. For guidance on structuring the full offer, see the VP Sales offer negotiation guide.

Benchmarking against outdated data

Comp data from 2023 or 2024 doesn't reflect the current market. The post-pandemic correction, the 2022-2023 tech hiring slowdown, and the 2024-2025 recovery have all shifted the landscape. Use current-year data. The numbers in this article are from postings tracked through February 2026.

Forgetting about equity expectations at early stages

Seed and Series A companies showing $192K to $257K in base may look affordable, but candidates at that stage also expect meaningful equity, often 0.5% to 1.5% of the company. If your equity pool is thin or your valuation makes the grant size feel small, you'll need to compensate with higher base or accelerated vesting. The base number alone doesn't capture the full cost of the hire.