Writers and Authors: salary, outlook & degrees
Originate and prepare written material, such as scripts, stories, advertisements, and other material.
Middle half $58,230–$101,950. 47,940 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
85% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $60,915.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 11,900 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 | 16% | English |
| Communications | 9% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Journalism | 7% | Journalism |
| Composition And Rhetoric | 4% | Writing |
| Political Science And Government | 4% | Political Science |
| Advertising And Public Relations | 3% | Public Relations and Advertising |
| Psychology | 3% | Psychology |
| History | 3% | History |
| Mass Media | 3% | Broadcasting / Digital Media |
| Film Video And Photographic Arts | 3% | Film and Photography |
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 |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $129,300 |
| Maryland | $104,330 |
| Connecticut | $98,460 |
| Vermont | $94,430 |
| Louisiana | $89,520 |
| California | $86,480 |
| Washington | $85,700 |
| Massachusetts | $85,260 |
| Virginia | $85,000 |
| New Jersey | $81,590 |
| Oregon | $80,540 |
| Pennsylvania | $77,410 |
| Colorado | $76,830 |
| Indiana | $75,820 |
| Georgia | $74,710 |
| Minnesota | $72,810 |
| New Hampshire | $71,830 |
| Rhode Island | $70,190 |
| Texas | $69,990 |
| Illinois | $68,220 |
| Florida | $68,080 |
| Alabama | $66,950 |
| Ohio | $65,930 |
| Kansas | $65,840 |
| Nebraska | $65,470 |
| Utah | $64,530 |
| West Virginia | $64,410 |
| Wisconsin | $64,370 |
| Nevada | $63,910 |
| North Carolina | $63,660 |
| Iowa | $61,010 |
| Tennessee | $58,870 |
| Oklahoma | $58,770 |
| Missouri | $58,140 |
| South Dakota | $56,700 |
| Idaho | $56,360 |
| Arizona | $55,990 |
| Mississippi | $54,180 |
| South Carolina | $51,920 |
| North Dakota | $50,860 |
| Wyoming | $49,650 |
| Kentucky | $48,780 |
| Arkansas | $47,970 |
| PR | $43,440 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$66,470
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$72,560
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$68,880
- Tallahassee$72,400
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$60,640
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$64,900
- Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach$73,440
- Jacksonville$56,760
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$108,460
- Richmond$74,300
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$73,460
- Charlottesville$76,990
- Kingsport-Bristol$57,600
California metro areas
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$118,810
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$82,590
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$82,690
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$78,990
- Fresno$77,060
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$82,920
- Santa Rosa-Petaluma$107,700
- Bakersfield-Delano$73,600
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
- Writing
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Administrative
- Sales and Marketing
- Computers and Electronics
Work styles
- Innovation
- Achievement Orientation
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Dependability
- Initiative
People in this job tend to have Artistic (creative), 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.
Writers and Authors: questions
How much do writers and Authors make?
Writers and Authors earn a U.S. median $76,910 a year; the middle half earn $58,230 to $101,950 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $57,276 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is writers and Authors a growing field?
BLS projects a decline of 0.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a writers and Author?
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 (16%).
How much do writers and Authors make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $68,080 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $76,910 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 27-3043. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Writers and Authors: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/writers-and-authors.