Public Relations Specialists Salary: $69,780 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 280,590 public relations specialists work nationally, and $69,780 is the BLS national median annual wage. Employment in the series shown rose about 5% from the first to the last year; much hiring sits in educational services.
Public Relations Specialists: what the data shows
Common questions about public relations specialists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a public relations specialists?
Public Relations Specialists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 27-3031.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 280,590 workers.
What does a public relations specialists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Developing Objectives and Strategies, Thinking Creatively, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a public relations specialists make?
BLS national median annual wage: $69,780 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $95,096 — 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 | $49,366 |
| 25th percentile | $64,445 |
| Median (50th) | $83,705 |
| 75th percentile | $111,623 |
| 90th percentile | $150,009 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Social Perceptiveness, Reading Comprehension, Time Management, and knowledge areas including Communications and Media, English Language, Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is public relations specialists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.3% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 1.7%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 3.5%.
Current U.S. headcount: 280,590.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do public relations specialistss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 280,590 | 18.1% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 230,800 | 14.9% |
| Educational Services | 72,300 | 4.7% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 64,390 | 4.2% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 64,390 | 4.2% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 49,790 | 3.2% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Public Relations Specialists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | 1,441,580 | — |
| Marketing Managers | 384,980 | $161,030 |
| Editors | 95,480 | $75,260 |
| Writers and Authors | 47,800 | $72,270 |
| Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other | 174,060 | $48,790 |
| Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other | 195,890 | $46,040 |
| Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners | 12,630 | $67,310 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Public Relations Specialists workforce.
Employment Over Time
280,590 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Public Relations Specialists grew from 114,920 in 2009 to 121,440 in 2025 (5.7%).
Historical employment for Public Relations Specialists from the California OEWS series, 2009–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$69,780 Median pay (BLS national)
Public Relations Specialists earn $69,780 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Public Relations Specialists.
Salary distribution for Public Relations Specialists.
Employment Growth Projections
0.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
123,552 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 1.7%
125,701 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 3.5%
This occupation is projected to grow at 0.3% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Public Relations Specialists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Public Relations Specialists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Public Relations Specialists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Public Relations Specialists.
Wage Trends by Industry
-1.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Public Relations Specialists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Public Relations Specialists.
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:
- CA: 31,070 employees, $92,580 avg wage
- NY: 25,780 employees, $93,290 avg wage
- TX: 25,270 employees, $67,120 avg wage
- FL: 18,500 employees, $68,870 avg wage
- DC: 18,110 employees, $114,580 avg wage
- VA: 9,580 employees, $86,160 avg wage
- NC: 9,290 employees, $68,760 avg wage
- PA: 9,260 employees, $64,870 avg wage
- MI: 8,610 employees, $68,700 avg wage
- MA: 8,080 employees, $84,920 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Public Relations Specialists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 24,000 employees, $110,280 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 23,640 employees, $95,730 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 11,930 employees, $85,550 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 7,310 employees, $71,050 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 6,460 employees, $87,930 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 6,040 employees, $109,070 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 5,530 employees, $72,880 avg wage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 5,290 employees, $75,070 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 5,130 employees, $71,200 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 4,890 employees, $74,860 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Public Relations Specialists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Public Relations Specialists in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Public Relations Specialists is about 280,590 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Public Relations Specialists.
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 Public Relations Specialists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Public Relations Specialists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Public Relations Specialists in 2023 were Public Relations, Communications, Journalism.
Common majors for Public Relations Specialists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Public Relations Specialists workers.
Education level distribution for Public Relations Specialists.
Skills
Public Relations Specialists need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Social Perceptiveness, Reading Comprehension.
Required skills for Public Relations Specialists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Public Relations Specialists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Public Relations Specialists include Communications and Media, English Language, Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service, Sales and Marketing.
Knowledge areas required for Public Relations Specialists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Public Relations Specialists include Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Written Expression, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity.
Required abilities for Public Relations Specialists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Public Relations Specialists.
Daily Activities
Public Relations Specialists spend their time on activities such as Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Developing Objectives and Strategies.
Most important work activities for Public Relations Specialists.
About
Public Relations Specialists
Public Relations Specialists earn $69,780 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
27-3031 - Public Relations Specialists
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Public Relations Specialists reports an average salary of $95,096.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 280,590 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 0.3%, 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.