Public Relations Specialists Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 27-3031 · National · May 2024 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$69,784
$33.55/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated Apr 3, 2025
Source: BLS OEWS · Published Apr 2, 2025
Next refresh: May 15, 2026
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The national median salary for Public Relations Specialists is $69,784 per year ($33.55/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024. The middle 50% of earners make between $51,979 and $95,950 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $129,480 per year. There are approximately 280,590 public relations specialists employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+4.8%
Faster than average
Annual openings
28K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
316K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
5% from new growth95% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services
NAICS 541800
39K
$74,550
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
NAICS 611300
20K
$63,930
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations
NAICS 813900
17K
$73,800
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
16K
$74,140
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 551100
14K
$85,030
Wage range across top 5 industries: $63,930 to $85,030 (33% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$19.59
$40,747
P25
$24.99
$51,979
P50MEDIAN
$33.55
$69,784
P75
$46.13
$95,950
P90
$62.25
$129,480
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average public relations specialists salary?
The national median salary for Public Relations Specialists is $69,784 per year ($33.55/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2024 data. The middle 50% earn between $51,979 and $95,950 annually.
How much do top-earning public relations specialists make?
The 90th percentile salary for Public Relations Specialists is $129,480 per year ($62.25/hr). The 75th percentile is $95,950 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for public relations specialists?
Entry-level Public Relations Specialists (10th percentile) earn approximately $40,747 per year ($19.59/hr). The 25th percentile is $51,979 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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