Data shows typical PR salary is around $85,000; Journalist salaries stagnate

A typical salary for a public relations professional working at a brand is $107,000 and at agencies it’s $80,000, according to Muck Rack’s second annual State of PR and Journalism Salaries survey, which collected responses from more than 1,400 PR professionals and journalists to understand how people in both industries are paid and what impacts their salaries.

PR working hours, job title and gender

There is not a strong correlation between hours worked and salary. Despite this, 57% of PR professionals reported working more than 40 hours a week, and nearly 80% work after hours at least once a week.

Seniority has the strongest correlation to salary, particularly within the C-suite, with 49% likely earning $150,000 or more. Director-level employees had the broadest range of possible salaries, with a typical salary of $120,000, while 68% of coordinator-level respondents are fixed at the $40,000-$70,000 salary range.

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Compared to last year, there are fewer PR professionals at brands getting paid under $40,000 and more are in the $40,000–$70,000 range. At agencies, there was a notable increase of 12% in the number of people earning $40,000–$70,000 and 15% earning $70,000–$100,000 compared to last year.

Generally, the more senior the position at agencies, the more likely men are to hold the role. Given that 80% of the PR professionals who responded to the Muck Rack survey are women and 18% are men, one might anticipate a similar gender distribution across all job roles. However, as job roles become more senior, the proportion of men in these positions increases, diverging from the overall gender distribution.

Journalist salaries

The typical salary for journalists remains consistent, falling within the $40,000-$70,000 range. This range is the most common salary bracket even as years of experience increase, which suggests some wage stagnation across the industry, with seniority not necessarily translating into significantly higher pay.

Methodology

The data is based on two surveys of over 3,200 journalists and PR professionals collected between January and April 2023. Salary data is only for U.S.-based respondents.

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