Editors: salary, outlook & degrees
Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material. May review proposals and drafts for possible publication.
Middle half $57,300–$106,100. 91,690 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
88% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $58,657.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 7,900 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| English Language And Literature | 21% | English |
| Journalism | 12% | Journalism |
| Film Video And Photographic Arts | 6% | Film and Photography |
| Mass Media | 5% | Broadcasting / Digital Media |
| Composition And Rhetoric | 5% | Writing |
| Communications | 4% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Psychology | 4% | Psychology |
| Political Science And Government | 3% | Political Science |
| History | 2% | History |
| Commercial Art And Graphic Design | 2% | Graphic / Interior / Fashion Design |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| New York | $101,480 |
| California | $98,030 |
| Connecticut | $85,950 |
| District of Columbia | $83,920 |
| Massachusetts | $83,170 |
| New Jersey | $81,680 |
| Virginia | $80,590 |
| Rhode Island | $77,960 |
| Colorado | $77,870 |
| Washington | $77,850 |
| Georgia | $76,650 |
| Illinois | $76,060 |
| Maryland | $75,550 |
| Delaware | $75,020 |
| Florida | $73,950 |
| North Carolina | $73,740 |
| Nevada | $72,510 |
| Ohio | $72,160 |
| Oregon | $71,540 |
| Vermont | $66,860 |
| New Hampshire | $66,510 |
| Utah | $65,040 |
| Wisconsin | $64,270 |
| New Mexico | $64,250 |
| Alaska | $63,630 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,460 |
| Alabama | $63,330 |
| Arizona | $63,090 |
| Michigan | $63,090 |
| Minnesota | $62,650 |
| South Carolina | $62,000 |
| Kansas | $61,920 |
| Montana | $61,750 |
| Missouri | $61,620 |
| North Dakota | $60,520 |
| Tennessee | $59,550 |
| Kentucky | $59,430 |
| Louisiana | $58,860 |
| Iowa | $57,200 |
| South Dakota | $56,730 |
| West Virginia | $56,630 |
| Indiana | $56,440 |
| Hawaii | $55,070 |
| Mississippi | $54,380 |
| Oklahoma | $50,780 |
| Arkansas | $50,180 |
| Maine | $50,180 |
| Wyoming | $46,710 |
| Nebraska | $46,320 |
| Texas | $45,950 |
| PR | $39,640 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$76,720
- Jacksonville$63,270
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$73,330
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$68,260
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$62,710
- Tallahassee$64,590
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$73,610
- Gainesville$68,730
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$84,800
- Richmond$70,380
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$59,570
- Charlottesville$75,800
- Kingsport-Bristol$45,700
- Roanoke$58,100
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$100,050
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$102,940
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$78,870
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$117,580
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$78,800
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$70,560
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$80,570
- Santa Rosa-Petaluma$81,330
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Customer and Personal Service
- Design
- Administration and Management
Work styles
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Leadership Orientation
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Achievement Orientation
People in this job tend to have Artistic (creative), Conventional (organizing), Enterprising (leading) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Editors: questions
How much do editors make?
Editors earn a U.S. median $77,920 a year; the middle half earn $57,300 to $106,100 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $56,946 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is editors a growing field?
BLS projects a decline of 1.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be an editor?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is english Language And Literature (21%).
How much do editors make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $73,950 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $77,920 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 27-3041. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Editors: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/editors.