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The national median salary for Editors is $75,254 per year ($36.18/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024. The middle 50% of earners make between $50,211 and $101,213 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $140,837 per year. There are approximately 95,480 editors employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material. May review proposals and drafts for possible publication.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+0.6%
Little or no change
Annual openings
10K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
116K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
1% from new growth99% 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
Less than 5 years
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers
NAICS 513100
36K
$67,860
Motion Picture and Video Industries
NAICS 512100
8K
$98,010
Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers
NAICS 516200
7K
$82,990
Computer Systems Design and Related Services
NAICS 541500
6K
$28,620
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services
NAICS 541800
5K
$81,800
Wage range across top 5 industries: $28,620 to $98,010 (242% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$17.40
$36,192
P25
$24.14
$50,211
P50MEDIAN
$36.18
$75,254
P75
$48.66
$101,213
P90
$67.71
$140,837
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 editors salary?
The national median salary for Editors is $75,254 per year ($36.18/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2024 data. The middle 50% earn between $50,211 and $101,213 annually.
How much do top-earning editors make?
The 90th percentile salary for Editors is $140,837 per year ($67.71/hr). The 75th percentile is $101,213 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for editors?
Entry-level Editors (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,192 per year ($17.40/hr). The 25th percentile is $50,211 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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