Public Relations Specialists Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 27-3031 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$74,755
$35.94/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Public Relations Specialists is $74,755 per year ($35.94/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $56,264 and $100,360 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $135,158 per year. There are approximately 283,380 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
38K
$77,480
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
NAICS 611300
21K
$66,420
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
17K
$77,870
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations
NAICS 813900
17K
$77,650
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 551100
13K
$92,740
Wage range across top 5 industries: $66,420 to $92,740 (40% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$21.21
$44,117
P25
$27.05
$56,264
P50MEDIAN
$35.94
$74,755
P75
$48.25
$100,360
P90
$64.98
$135,158
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 $74,755 per year ($35.94/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $56,264 and $100,360 annually.
How much do top-earning public relations specialists make?
The 90th percentile salary for Public Relations Specialists is $135,158 per year ($64.98/hr). The 75th percentile is $100,360 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for public relations specialists?
Entry-level Public Relations Specialists (10th percentile) earn approximately $44,117 per year ($21.21/hr). The 25th percentile is $56,264 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 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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