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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

27-3031 Public Relations Specialists

Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
244,730 1.0 % $33.75 $70,190 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $16.63 $21.87 $29.40 $39.98 $55.50
Annual Wage (2) $34,590 $45,480 $61,150 $83,170 $115,430


Industry profile for this occupation:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 34,760 7.09 $39.56 $82,290
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 20,510 4.68 $37.15 $77,270
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 18,450 0.60 $30.32 $63,070
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 12,480 0.23 $30.64 $63,730
Management of Companies and Enterprises 10,970 0.45 $36.79 $76,530

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 34,760 7.09 $39.56 $82,290
Social Advocacy Organizations 10,930 4.91 $30.93 $64,340
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 20,510 4.68 $37.15 $77,270
Grantmaking and Giving Services 6,350 4.42 $34.16 $71,050
Radio and Television Broadcasting 3,560 1.66 $25.52 $53,090

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) (8) (8) $46.05 $95,780
Metal Ore Mining 50 0.11 $44.70 $92,980
Software Publishers 1,520 0.35 $44.20 $91,950
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities 1,590 0.17 $43.49 $90,460
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers 330 0.63 $43.43 $90,330


Geographic profile for this occupation:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 26,700 1.54 0.92 $36.05 $74,990
Texas 26,110 2.10 1.26 $29.14 $60,600
New York 25,760 2.70 1.62 $37.61 $78,230
District of Columbia 18,600 25.71 15.43 $52.59 $109,390
Florida 11,830 1.34 0.81 $29.20 $60,740




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 18,600 25.71 15.43 $52.59 $109,390
Rhode Island 1,330 2.75 1.65 $33.92 $70,560
New York 25,760 2.70 1.62 $37.61 $78,230
Vermont 780 2.54 1.53 $26.88 $55,900
Maine 1,450 2.37 1.42 $27.18 $56,530




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 18,600 25.71 15.43 $52.59 $109,390
New Jersey 4,330 1.06 0.64 $39.37 $81,890
New York 25,760 2.70 1.62 $37.61 $78,230
Virginia 7,640 1.97 1.18 $37.12 $77,210
Washington 6,100 1.84 1.10 $36.99 $76,950





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 24,250 2.51 1.51 $39.33 $81,820
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 24,160 7.60 4.56 $49.91 $103,820
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 9,480 1.52 0.91 $32.47 $67,550
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 9,080 2.48 1.49 $29.49 $61,340
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 6,810 1.46 0.87 $30.90 $64,270
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 6,460 2.61 1.57 $40.63 $84,520
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 5,700 2.04 1.22 $34.78 $72,340
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 5,680 1.86 1.12 $32.31 $67,200
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 4,730 2.40 1.44 $30.93 $64,320
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 4,600 1.68 1.01 $28.93 $60,180