How many employees work at Sotheby's?
Sotheby's has approximately 3,791 total employees worldwide as of March 2026, according to Revelio Labs workforce intelligence data. Sotheby's's total headcount has grown 0.6% from 3,766 employees in 2023 to 3,791 in 2026.
Data source: Revelio LabsCoverage: Global workforce, 2023–2026Published June 2026
Is Sotheby's hiring right now?
Yes, Sotheby's is actively hiring. Sotheby's had 121 active job postings in 2026, a 45.7% increase from 2025 — see job openings & hiring trends.
About Sotheby's's Workforce
Sotheby's is an Apparel Retail company that employs 3,791 people worldwide as of March 2026. It is the 7th-largest by headcount among its peers. Founded in 1976, the company is headquartered in New York City, New York.
Sotheby's's workforce has grown 0.6% from 2023 to 2026, up 5.1% year over year in 2026. It fell to a low of 3,602 in 2025 Q1 before recovering. Its workforce is concentrated most in the United States (37.4%), followed by the United Kingdom (18.4%) and Swaziland (6.3%), with Switzerland, its fastest-growing location.
Sotheby's's largest functional groups are Finance and Operations (54.9%), Engineering (28.5%), and Sales and Marketing (16.6%), with Engineering growing fastest (up 5.7%). Median employee tenure is 3.7 years. The average salary is $79,800, ranging from a median of $99,000 in Northern America to $14,000 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sotheby's's active job postings rose 45.7% in 2026 to 121, with new postings per month cooling from 58 in 2023 to 40 in 2026. Overall employee sentiment is negative but improving.
Sourced from Revelio Labs workforce data.
As of March 2026
Sotheby's
workforce metrics
Headcount
3.8k
5.1% YoY
Avg. Salary
$79.8k
0.8% YoY
Tenure
3.7yr
0.4yr YoY
Growth Rate
5.1%
10.1pts YoY
Hiring Rate
Attrition Rate
Unlock hiring rate, attrition rate, and 12 additional workforce metrics for Sotheby's. Compare to peers, export the dataset, and access the full quarterly history.
- Sotheby's had 3,791 employees in 2026, a 5.1% increase (+189) from 2025.
- Sotheby's had 3,697 employees in 2025, a 1.5% increase (+54) from 2024.
- Sotheby's had 3,643 employees in 2024, a 3.6% decline (-134) from 2023.
- Sotheby's had 3,777 employees in 2023, a 0% no change (-2) from 2022.
Sotheby's's total workforce has grown from 3,766 employees in 2023 to 3,791 in 2026.
Sotheby's — quarterly employee count (2023–2026)
| Year | Qtr | Employees | YoY Change | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Q1 | 3,791 | +189 | +5.1% |
| 2025 | Q4 | 3,697 | +54 | +1.5% |
| 2025 | Q3 | 3,714 | +13 | +0.4% |
| 2025 | Q2 | 3,629 | -156 | -4.2% |
| 2025 | Q1 | 3,602 | -186 | -5.0% |
| 2024 | Q4 | 3,643 | -134 | -3.6% |
| 2024 | Q3 | 3,701 | -44 | -1.2% |
| 2024 | Q2 | 3,785 | +19 | +0.5% |
| 2024 | Q1 | 3,788 | +8 | +0.2% |
| 2023 | Q4 | 3,777 | -2 | -0.0% |
| 2023 | Q3 | 3,745 | -72 | -1.9% |
| 2023 | Q2 | 3,766 | +42 | +1.1% |
Want to see Sotheby's's complete headcount history back to 2017, including quarterly breakdowns?
The United States accounts for the largest share of Sotheby's's global workforce with approximately 37% of total employees, followed by the United Kingdom and Swaziland. Sotheby's's headcount in Switzerland is growing fastest among its major locations, up 11.4% year over year in 2026.
Sotheby's employees by country — 2026
| Country | Employees | % of Total | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1,409 | 37.4% | +3.0% |
| United Kingdom | 694 | 18.4% | +4.8% |
| Swaziland | 236 | 6.3% | +0.0% |
| France | 216 | 5.7% | +6.6% |
| Hong Kong | 202 | 5.4% | +0.7% |
| Saudi Arabia | 190 | 5.0% | +4.8% |
| Brazil | 84 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| Switzerland | 77 | 2.0% | +11.4% |
| India | 66 | 1.8% | +1.0% |
| Seychelles | 58 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
Drill into city-level data, hiring trends by region and historic geographic shifts
Sotheby's's largest employee groups are Finance and Operations (54.9%), Engineering (28.5%), and Sales and Marketing (16.6%).
Sotheby's employees by department — 2026
| Department | Employees | % of Total | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance and Operations | 2,043 | 54.9% | +1.1% |
| Engineering | 1,059 | 28.5% | +5.7% |
| Sales and Marketing | 618 | 16.6% | +5.1% |
Compare Sotheby's's department mix to industry peers.
Sotheby's's average employee salary is $79,800 globally. Employees in Northern America receive the highest compensation, with median pay approximately 1.2x the global average. Pay is lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa, at a median of $14,000.
Sotheby's median employee salary by region — 2026 (USD)
| Region | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Northern America | $99,000 |
| Northern Europe | $64,000 |
| Eastern Asia | $54,000 |
| Western Europe | $54,000 |
| Pacific Islands | $48,000 |
| Central and Western Asia | $38,000 |
| Southern Europe | $34,000 |
| Arab States | $30,000 |
| Eastern Europe | $27,000 |
| Central America and the Caribbean | $20,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | $14,000 |
| South-Eastern Asia | $11,000 |
| Southern America | $10,000 |
| Northern Africa | $8,000 |
| Southern Asia | $6,000 |
Unlock salary by role, level, and city — and compare to Sotheby's's industry peers.
- Sotheby's had 121 active job postings in 2026, a 45.7% increase (+37) from 2025.
- Sotheby's had 84 active job postings in 2025, a 16.8% increase (+13) from 2024.
- Sotheby's had 71 active job postings in 2024, a 2.8% decline (-2) from 2023.
- Sotheby's had 73 active job postings in 2023, a 59.6% decline from 2022.
- Hiring velocity in 2026: 40 new roles/month, up from 33 in 2025 and 39 in 2024. New metric
Sotheby's's active job postings rose 45.7% in 2026 to 121, with new postings per month cooling from 58 in 2023 to 40 in 2026.
Track new postings per month, role-level demand, and hiring velocity vs. peers.
Revelio Labs tracks employee sentiment across Sotheby's's workforce based on public professional data. Overall sentiment is negative and has improved year over year in 2026.
Overall
Unlock the full sentiment breakdown by department, tenure, and trend over time.
Similar Apparel Retail Companies by Employee Count
- How fast is Sotheby's growing?
- In 2026, Sotheby's's headcount grew 5.1% to 3,791 employees, up from 3,602 in 2025.
- Where are Sotheby's employees located?
- Most Sotheby's employees are based in the United States (37.4% of headcount), followed by the United Kingdom and Swaziland.
- What is the average salary at Sotheby's?
- The average employee salary at Sotheby's is approximately $79.8k per year.
- How many people does Sotheby's hire per year?
- In 2026, Sotheby's opened roughly 480 new roles — about 40 per month.
- When was Sotheby's founded and where is it headquartered?
- Sotheby's was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in New York City, New York.
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