Inventory Control Analyst Salary: Your 2025 Guide

A business relies on many people to ensure its success. An inventory control analyst plays a key role on the inventory management side. Inventory control analyst jobs include a wide range of tasks designed to maximize production. 

If being an essential component of an organization’s success is important to you, a career as an inventory control analyst could be a great option. Still, when deciding on your career path, it helps to have an idea about what you can expect from an inventory control specialist salary. Learn more about average salaries and what factors impact the inventory control analyst income you receive. 

What does an inventory control analyst do? 

As an inventory control analyst, you will help management with inventory purchasing, resource allocation, and sales forecasting with the goal of maximizing the organization's production. You will also manage inventory items, control daily inventory operations, and implement the organization’s inventory control protocol. You may work in various settings, including manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and distribution. 

Common inventory analyst responsibilities

You will also maintain and improve the organization’s inventory by analyzing statistics and determining what products sell and don’t sell. Other inventory control analyst responsibilities include placing orders, tracking shipments, and allocating stock to the correct department when it arrives. 

Your other responsibilities will include but aren’t limited to: 

• Arranging pickup and shipment 

• Researching inventory-related reports and national purchasing trends

• Directing buyers and stock workers

• Performing inventory counts

• Recommending procedural changes

• Collaborating with data engineering, finance, and other business areas

• Liaising between teams to reach established production goals

• Compiling, analyzing, and evaluating data for financial revenue projections

How much does an inventory control analyst make?

An inventory control analyst has a diverse role with many responsibilities, including the full lifecycle of a product. To get a clearer understanding of the potential earning power you could enjoy, consider the average inventory analyst salary as calculated by several popular job listing sites [1, 2, 3, 4]. 

Think of the average as a baseline to compare your options. Your inventory control analyst salary will vary depending on many factors, including your education, experience level, location, industry, and more. 

Factors that impact inventory control analyst salary

Like many careers in the United States, a range of factors can impact your salary as an inventory control analyst, including your education and any certifications you have. Understanding these factors can help you maximize your salary potential.

Education and certifications

Preparation is essential when researching how to become an inventory control analyst. The good news is that you have several paths open to you. However, many organizations will require at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as business, business administration, computer science, or information technology. Still, Zippia states that 20.9 percent of inventory control analysts have associate degrees, which means you could land a role without a bachelor’s degree [5].

Education level can impact the average inventory control analyst’s salary [1]: 

• Associate degree: $49,327

• Bachelor’s degree: $55,623

• Master’s degree: $61,406

• Doctorate: $63,873

Certifications prove you have the skills needed to excel in your desired role. Some certifications to consider and the typical salary associated with each are as follows: 

• Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM): $86,000 [6]

• Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP): $96,000 [7]

Skills

With such a diverse job description, you’ll need a wide range of inventory control analyst skills. Explore these skills and the average salary for inventory control analysts with these skills.

*All annual base salary data is sourced from Payscale as of February 2025 and does not include additional pay, such as commission and benefits.

• Logistics: $66,000

• Inventory control: $57,000

• Inventory management: $63,000

• Process improvement: $85,000

• Cycle counts: $55,000

• Data entry: $46,000

• Material requirements planning (MRP): $71,000

• Reconciliations: $60,000

Experience

Just like other positions in the United States, the more you work as an inventory control analyst, the more knowledgeable you can become and the more effective you may be at doing your job. This may result in a higher salary or promotion. Discover how years on the job affect the average inventory control analyst’s salary [2]. 

• 0–1 years: $54,639

• 1–3 years: $59,024

• 4–6 years: $60,322

• 7–9 years: $62,085

• 10–14 years: $66,238

• 15 or more years: $74,450

Beyond just years of experience, you can also earn promotions within your current organization or move to higher roles in other organizations. Explore these upward movements and their average salaries [5]. 

• Inventory analyst: $58,944

• Buyer: $54,049

• Senior buyer: $79,848

• Production planner: $60,390

• Supply chain analyst: $67,450

• Purchasing manager: $98,118

• Operations manager: $76,894

• Senior finance analyst: $83,222

• Distribution supervisor: $62,458

• Inventory control supervisor: $43,925

• Asset manager: $85,814

• Supply chain manager: $100,414

• Director of purchasing: $106,945

• Distribution center manager: $99,459

• Logistics supervisor: $65,301

• Global supply chain manager: $122,423

• Fulfillment manager: $91,647

Location

Location is another variable that can impact your inventory control analyst salary, as companies may compensate for living costs, local taxes, and local demand for the role. For example, if a city has a relatively higher cost of living, a company may need to offer a higher salary to attract applicants. 

Highest-paying states for inventory control analyst

If you’re willing to relocate to maximize your potential inventory control analyst salary, consider checking out these top-paying states [1].

• Delaware: $64,377

• District of Columbia: $63,702

• California: $63,292

• Maine: $62,255

• New Jersey: $62,048

• Illinois: $59,091

• Washington: $58,911

• Maryland: $58,598

• Virginia: $58,096

Industry

The industry you choose to work in may also impact your inventory control analyst salary. You may maximize your salary by selecting one of these highest-paying industries to work in [1]:

• Transportation: $55,669

• Manufacturing: $54,209

• Technology: $54,180

• Real Estate: $50,639

• Retail: $50,174

Job outlook

An inventory control analyst falls under the logistician career umbrella, which has an excellent job outlook. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects careers in this area to grow by 19 percent from 2023 through 2033, a significantly faster rate than other US occupations [8]. 

The BLS estimates 26,100 new openings in this area, the majority of which will come from people transferring to new occupations or leaving the workforce [8]. 

Related job titles

Knowing more about related positions can be helpful when planning your career path. Some other occupations with responsibilities that are similar to an inventory control analyst’s responsibilities and their average salaries include: 

• Cost estimators: In this role, you’ll collect and analyze data to assess the time, money, materials, and labor necessary to produce a product or provide a service. The average salary is $80,054 [9].

• Industrial engineer: In this job, you’ll develop efficient systems integrating workers with information, machines, energy, and materials to make a product or provide a service. The average salary is $89,759 [10].

• Management analysts: This role makes recommendations on how to improve an organization’s efficiency. Annual salaries for management analysts average $103,155 [11].

• Operations research analysts: As an operations research analyst, you will help organizations make informed decisions and solve problems through mathematics and logic. You may help manage the supply chain, allocate resources, research and set prices, and create production schedules. Salaries average $126,494 [12].

• Buyers or purchasing agents: These roles are interchangeable and involve buying organizations' products and services. The average buyer's salary is $76,082 [13], while the average purchasing agent's salary is $60,974 [14].

• Purchasing managers: As a purchasing manager, you oversee purchasing agents, buyers, and other members of an organization’s purchasing teams. You’ll also organize the purchase of raw or minimally processed goods and services for retailers, wholesalers, or other organizations. Purchasing manager's salaries average $82,600 [15].

Build skills to maximize your inventory control analyst salary on Coursera

As an inventory control analyst, you’ll collaborate with others to help your organization maximize its production and meet financial goals by assisting management with inventory purchasing, resource allocation, sales forecasting, and other related tasks. To optimize your earning potential, consider building your skill set. Data from Payscale suggests that robust skills, including SQL and data analysis, can help increase your salary [3]. 

Continue learning about the job and develop in-demand capabilities with online courses. For example, you could explore the University of California, Irvine’s Inventory Management, or Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey’s Inventory Analytics. Alternatively, become more proficient in SQL with IBM’s SQL: A Practical Introduction for Querying Databases or strengthen your data analysis skills with Google’s Foundations: Data, Data Everywhere. You’ll find these options and many more on Coursera.