May 2025 OEWS estimate

Public Relations Specialist Salary in the United States

The national median annual salary is $74,750. This page compares official BLS estimates across 44 major metro areas with publishable data.

Wage overview

Official BLS estimates; hourly values are shown only when BLS publishes them.

Median annual salary

$74,750

Mean annual salary

$84,120

Employment estimate

283,380

Annual salary percentiles

Public Relations Specialist national annual salary percentiles

BLS wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. Values are annual, the scale starts at $0, and P50 is the median.

Public Relations Specialist national annual salary percentiles values
Percentile	Annual salary
P10 — 10th percentile	$44,110
P25 — lower quartile	$56,260
P50 — median	$74,750
P75 — upper quartile	$100,370
P90 — 90th percentile	$135,150

Public Relations Specialist national annual salary percentiles values
Percentile	Annual salary
P10 — 10th percentile	$44,110
P25 — lower quartile	$56,260
P50 — median	$74,750
P75 — upper quartile	$100,370
P90 — 90th percentile	$135,150

Median hourly wage

$35.94/hr

Mean hourly wage

$40.44/hr

Employment estimate

283,380

Hourly wage percentiles

Public Relations Specialist national hourly wage percentiles

BLS hourly wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The scale starts at $0; P50 is the median.

Public Relations Specialist national hourly wage percentiles values
Percentile	Hourly wage
P10 — 10th percentile	$21.21/hr
P25 — lower quartile	$27.05/hr
P50 — median	$35.94/hr
P75 — upper quartile	$48.25/hr
P90 — 90th percentile	$64.98/hr

Public Relations Specialist national hourly wage percentiles values
Percentile	Annual salary
P10 — 10th percentile	$44,110
P25 — lower quartile	$56,260
P50 — median	$74,750
P75 — upper quartile	$100,370
P90 — 90th percentile	$135,150

Median salary distribution across covered metros

These values summarize the 44 metros published on this site, not every U.S. metro.

Lowest covered median: $55,910
Middle covered median: $69,035
Highest covered median: $117,620

Highest-paying metros in this dataset

Ranked by annual median salary on a zero-based scale. This is not a cost-of-living or quality-of-life ranking.

Highest-paying metros in this dataset values
Rank	Metro or occupation	Annual median
#1	San Jose, CA	$117,620
#2	San Francisco, CA	$102,520
#3	Washington, DC	$101,680
#4	Seattle, WA	$96,000
#5	Sacramento, CA	$89,640
#6	New York, NY	$84,130
#7	Denver, CO	$82,930
#8	Boston, MA	$81,440
#9	Los Angeles, CA	$79,860
#10	Atlanta, GA	$78,920

Highest-paying metros in this dataset values
Percentile	Annual salary
P10 — 10th percentile	$44,110
P25 — lower quartile	$56,260
P50 — median	$74,750
P75 — upper quartile	$100,370
P90 — 90th percentile	$135,150

Largest employment markets

BLS employment estimates for the covered metros where employment is published.

Largest employment markets values
Rank	Employment market	Estimated employment
#1	New York, NY	24,820
#2	Washington, DC	22,810
#3	Los Angeles, CA	11,910
#4	Dallas, TX	7,300
#5	San Francisco, CA	6,290
#6	Minneapolis, MN	6,170
#7	Miami, FL	5,460
#8	Boston, MA	5,380
#9	Philadelphia, PA	5,220
#10	Houston, TX	5,160

Largest employment markets values
Percentile	Annual salary
P10 — 10th percentile	$44,110
P25 — lower quartile	$56,260
P50 — median	$74,750
P75 — upper quartile	$100,370
P90 — 90th percentile	$135,150

Public Relations Specialist salaries by metro

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44 of 44 metros

Public Relations Specialist salaries by metro
Metro	Median	Mean	P25–P75 range	Employment
San Jose, CA	$117,620	$126,870	$80,010–$169,140	2,200
San Francisco, CA	$102,520	$114,310	$75,750–$147,230	6,290
Washington, DC	$101,680	$116,930	$77,120–$144,170	22,810
Seattle, WA	$96,000	$100,940	$78,620–$122,780	3,980
Sacramento, CA	$89,640	$95,120	$72,910–$111,320	2,620
New York, NY	$84,130	$99,240	$64,390–$116,590	24,820
Denver, CO	$82,930	$101,030	$68,230–$111,140	4,560
Boston, MA	$81,440	$93,800	$62,940–$111,860	5,380
Los Angeles, CA	$79,860	$89,790	$63,550–$105,980	11,910
Atlanta, GA	$78,920	$90,240	$61,110–$102,010	4,750
Portland, OR	$78,380	$84,460	$59,290–$103,990	3,050
Baltimore, MD	$77,570	$84,900	$59,990–$104,680	1,880
Chicago, IL	$77,050	$88,860	$60,610–$107,110	4,920
Riverside, CA	$77,010	$82,860	$58,610–$100,920	1,470
Charlotte, NC	$75,190	$86,370	$55,170–$102,200	2,470
Virginia Beach, VA	$73,890	$77,570	$53,530–$96,420	1,140
Las Vegas, NV	$73,840	$78,360	$51,380–$93,080	1,180
Minneapolis, MN	$73,780	$77,940	$58,590–$95,770	6,170
Columbus, OH	$73,280	$79,870	$55,360–$96,170	1,840
Phoenix, AZ	$70,490	$79,660	$55,560–$89,990	3,860
Austin, TX	$69,470	$75,960	$53,790–$86,090	4,170
Dallas, TX	$69,280	$75,960	$54,530–$87,840	7,300
Raleigh, NC	$68,790	$82,230	$56,730–$89,670	2,330
New Orleans, LA	$68,600	$76,420	$52,940–$82,620	490
Houston, TX	$68,320	$74,630	$52,580–$89,990	5,160
Kansas City, MO	$68,050	$74,490	$54,050–$87,470	1,950
Orlando, FL	$67,370	$73,920	$49,240–$86,070	2,320
Indianapolis, IN	$66,450	$75,970	$53,150–$83,880	1,740
Oklahoma City, OK	$66,410	$76,310	$54,170–$99,250	920
Detroit, MI	$66,100	$78,140	$52,580–$94,020	2,930
Birmingham, AL	$64,880	$76,090	$50,420–$97,070	710
San Antonio, TX	$64,690	$71,620	$48,710–$83,280	1,870
Tampa, FL	$64,690	$72,440	$50,070–$86,120	2,590
Miami, FL	$64,600	$72,680	$48,420–$84,540	5,460
Philadelphia, PA	$64,550	$73,330	$52,300–$85,090	5,220
Cincinnati, OH	$64,040	$72,950	$51,520–$83,200	1,470
Urban Honolulu, HI	$63,780	$69,750	$50,740–$81,730	1,370
Jacksonville, FL	$63,620	$76,350	$47,670–$90,740	1,070
Nashville, TN	$62,870	$67,880	$49,120–$82,320	1,350
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY	$61,640	$72,860	$52,180–$81,330	820
Memphis, TN	$61,000	$67,740	$48,140–$82,820	670
Baton Rouge, LA	$59,990	$64,530	$50,730–$67,510	450
El Paso, TX	$57,810	$62,450	$44,010–$73,920	420
Pittsburgh, PA	$55,910	$60,450	$41,470–$71,580	1,970