Proofreaders and Copy Markers Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 43-9081 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$51,126
$24.58/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 Proofreaders and Copy Markers is $51,126 per year ($24.58/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $41,163 and $62,379 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $79,290 per year. There are approximately 4,580 proofreaders and copy markers employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Read transcript or proof type setup to detect and mark for correction any grammatical, typographical, or compositional errors.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-0.6%
Little or no change
Annual openings
2K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
12K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% 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
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers
NAICS 513100
1K
$43,230
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services
NAICS 541800
370
$67,270
Employment Services
NAICS 561300
340
$51,410
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services
NAICS 541600
260
$54,990
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 551100
200
$51,030
Wage range across top 5 industries: $43,230 to $67,270 (56% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$16.59
$34,507
P25
$19.79
$41,163
P50MEDIAN
$24.58
$51,126
P75
$29.99
$62,379
P90
$38.12
$79,290
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average proofreaders and copy markers salary?
The national median salary for Proofreaders and Copy Markers is $51,126 per year ($24.58/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $41,163 and $62,379 annually.
How much do top-earning proofreaders and copy markers make?
The 90th percentile salary for Proofreaders and Copy Markers is $79,290 per year ($38.12/hr). The 75th percentile is $62,379 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for proofreaders and copy markers?
Entry-level Proofreaders and Copy Markers (10th percentile) earn approximately $34,507 per year ($16.59/hr). The 25th percentile is $41,163 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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