Desktop Publishers Salary: $74,409 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 4,000 desktop publishers nationally earn a mean of $74,409. Employment in the series shown fell about 15% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 10.2% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Desktop Publishers: what the data shows
Common questions about desktop publishers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a desktop publishers?
Desktop Publishers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 43-9031.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 4,000 workers.
What does a desktop publishers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Working with Computers, Getting Information, Thinking Creatively, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a desktop publishers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $53,620 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $74,409 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $39,145 |
| 25th percentile | $53,294 |
| Median (50th) | $64,990 |
| 75th percentile | $84,839 |
| 90th percentile | $112,665 |
What education do you need?
For Desktop Publishers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making, Speaking, Active Listening, Writing, and knowledge areas including Computers and Electronics, Communications and Media, English Language, Administrative. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is desktop publishers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 10.2% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -41.7%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -66.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 4,000.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do desktop publisherss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 4,000 | 20.7% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 3,760 | 19.5% |
| Information | 1,950 | 10.1% |
| Publishing Industries | 1,590 | 8.2% |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers | 1,570 | 8.1% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 620 | 3.2% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Desktop Publishers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Desktop Publishers workforce.
Employment Over Time
4,000 Workforce in 2023
The Desktop Publishers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Desktop Publishers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$74,409 Average Wage
In 2023, Desktop Publishers earned an average of $74,409.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Desktop Publishers.
Salary distribution for Desktop Publishers.
Employment Growth Projections
-10.2% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
898 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -41.7%
524 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -66.0%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Desktop Publishers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Desktop Publishers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Desktop Publishers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Desktop Publishers.
Wage Trends by Industry
-1.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: 1.5% growth (Current: $94,880)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Desktop Publishers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Desktop Publishers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- NY: 490 employees, $72,780 avg wage
- CA: 460 employees, $72,840 avg wage
- TX: 410 employees, $52,100 avg wage
- GA: 270 employees, $58,500 avg wage
- FL: 230 employees, $54,700 avg wage
- MN: 230 employees, $64,910 avg wage
- IL: 140 employees, $51,080 avg wage
- MA: 140 employees, $61,010 avg wage
- PA: 130 employees, N/A avg wage
- WI: 110 employees, N/A avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Desktop Publishers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 400 employees, $78,460 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 170 employees, $54,700 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 150 employees, $77,190 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 120 employees, N/A avg wage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 110 employees, $65,330 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 110 employees, N/A avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 90 employees, $48,220 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 90 employees, $65,680 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 70 employees, $73,190 avg wage
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: 60 employees, $73,780 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Desktop Publishers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Desktop Publishers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Desktop Publishers in 2023 was 4,000 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Desktop Publishers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Desktop Publishers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Desktop Publishers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Desktop Publishers in 2023 were Business, Social Sciences, General Studies.
Common majors for Desktop Publishers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Desktop Publishers workers.
Education level distribution for Desktop Publishers.
Skills
Desktop Publishers need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making, Speaking, Active Listening.
Required skills for Desktop Publishers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Desktop Publishers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Desktop Publishers include Computers and Electronics, Communications and Media, English Language, Administrative, Production and Processing.
Knowledge areas required for Desktop Publishers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Desktop Publishers include Near Vision, Information Ordering, Originality, Visualization, Written Comprehension.
Required abilities for Desktop Publishers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Desktop Publishers.
Daily Activities
Desktop Publishers spend their time on activities such as Working with Computers, Getting Information, Thinking Creatively, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Desktop Publishers.
About
Desktop Publishers
The average yearly wage for Desktop Publishers was $74,409 in 2023.
SOC Code
43-9031 - Desktop Publishers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Desktop Publishers reports an average salary of $74,409.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 4,000 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -10.2%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.