Public Relations Specialists: salary, outlook & degrees
Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.
Middle half $56,260–$100,370. 283,380 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
88% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $72,618.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 23,000 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Communications | 17% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Political Science And Government | 9% | Political Science |
| Journalism | 8% | Journalism |
| Advertising And Public Relations | 7% | Public Relations and Advertising |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 5% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Mass Media | 5% | Broadcasting / Digital Media |
| English Language And Literature | 4% | English |
| Psychology | 3% | Psychology |
| General Business | 2% | Business |
| Business Management And Administration | 2% | Business Administration |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $102,740 |
| Washington | $87,470 |
| California | $85,030 |
| Connecticut | $84,990 |
| New York | $81,250 |
| Colorado | $80,680 |
| Virginia | $80,380 |
| New Jersey | $80,130 |
| Massachusetts | $79,660 |
| Maryland | $79,560 |
| Rhode Island | $77,540 |
| Illinois | $76,380 |
| Delaware | $76,120 |
| Oregon | $74,900 |
| Nevada | $73,840 |
| New Hampshire | $73,280 |
| Georgia | $73,200 |
| North Dakota | $70,280 |
| Alaska | $70,050 |
| New Mexico | $68,700 |
| Minnesota | $68,620 |
| Wyoming | $67,490 |
| Wisconsin | $67,240 |
| North Carolina | $67,230 |
| Arizona | $66,710 |
| Vermont | $66,060 |
| Michigan | $65,300 |
| Texas | $65,160 |
| Arkansas | $65,000 |
| Oklahoma | $64,920 |
| Indiana | $64,900 |
| Kansas | $64,860 |
| Ohio | $64,840 |
| South Dakota | $64,520 |
| Hawaii | $63,880 |
| Montana | $63,780 |
| Florida | $63,660 |
| Iowa | $62,970 |
| South Carolina | $62,730 |
| Utah | $62,670 |
| Maine | $62,450 |
| Nebraska | $61,780 |
| Alabama | $61,710 |
| Missouri | $61,130 |
| Idaho | $61,110 |
| Tennessee | $60,900 |
| Louisiana | $60,470 |
| Kentucky | $60,150 |
| VI | $59,990 |
| Mississippi | $59,810 |
| Pennsylvania | $57,460 |
| West Virginia | $56,730 |
| GU | $48,460 |
| PR | $44,950 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$64,600
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$64,690
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$67,370
- Jacksonville$63,620
- Tallahassee$59,590
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$60,870
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$60,820
- Gainesville$62,050
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$101,680
- Richmond$75,730
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$73,890
- Charlottesville$76,580
- Roanoke$62,130
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford$65,170
- Lynchburg$60,990
- Harrisonburg$59,580
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$79,860
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$102,520
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$81,240
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$89,640
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$117,620
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$77,010
- Fresno$72,870
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$80,610
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
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- Communications and Media
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sales and Marketing
Work styles
- Social Orientation
- Cooperation
- Dependability
- Self-Confidence
- Innovation
People in this job tend to have Enterprising (leading), Artistic (creative), Social (helping) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Public Relations Specialists: questions
How much do public Relations Specialists make?
Public Relations Specialists earn a U.S. median $74,750 a year; the middle half earn $56,260 to $100,370 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $70,401 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is public Relations Specialists a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 1.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,000 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a public Relations Specialist?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 100% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is communications (17%).
How much do public Relations Specialists make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $63,660 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $74,750 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 27-3031. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Public Relations Specialists: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/public-relations-specialists.