Highest-paying Cities for Public Relations Specialists

The top 100 highest paying cities for public relations specialists (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of public relations specialists in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $105,310, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California is the highest paying city for public relations specialists. It is followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia (average annual salary $99,610). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of public relations specialists in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Public Relations Specialists

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$105,310	$53,760	2,030
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$99,610	$57,700	22,520
3	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$88,870	$58,240	160
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$88,290	$52,010	5,730
5	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Missouri	$86,900	$36,020	330
6	Napa, California	$84,320	$47,500	80
7	Idaho Falls, Idaho	$84,130	$39,750	90
8	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$82,440	$48,920	80
9	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$82,340	$44,900	21,530
10	New Haven, Connecticut	$82,060	$50,210	540
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$81,450	$52,480	3,810
12	Los Alamos County, New Mexico	$81,030	$50,390	70
13	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$80,140	$48,540	2,100
14	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$79,250	$49,670	6,730
15	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$79,090	$47,480	26,490
16	Salem, Oregon	$78,690	$39,700	360
17	Ithaca, New York	$78,440	$45,370	270
18	California-Lexington Park, Maryland	$78,180	$40,920	50
19	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$78,030	$43,960	670
20	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$77,920	$49,050	4,600
21	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$77,870	$40,970	180
22	Charlottesville, Virginia	$76,230	$45,780	300
23	Bloomington, Illinois	$76,220	$44,010	200
24	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$75,710	$45,070	250
25	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$75,690	$50,650	30
26	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$75,500	$45,500	150
27	Warner Robins, Georgia	$75,030	$39,640	40
28	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$74,700	$27,390	1,710
29	El Centro, California	$74,360	$36,850	40
30	Yuba City, California	$73,100	$37,380	50
31	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$73,030	$36,440	40
32	Columbus, Ohio	$72,920	$42,010	1,990
33	Olympia, Washington	$72,740	$53,290	500
34	Midland, Michigan	$72,650	$34,990	90
35	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$72,160	$47,560	1,230
36	Stockton, California	$71,970	$38,660	170
37	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$71,820	$40,920	3,440
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$71,780	$39,560	10,940
39	Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania	$71,680	$43,150	640
40	Huntsville, Alabama	$71,570	$36,610	280
41	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$71,450	$47,270	690
42	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$71,280	$45,040	6,320
43	Columbus, Georgia	$71,140	$29,390	80
44	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$70,820	$43,210	3,630
45	Framingham, Massachusetts	$70,760	$36,310	400
46	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$70,550	$41,020	440
47	Yakima, Washington	$70,520	$48,070	90
48	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Washington	$70,460	$46,970	50
49	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$70,230	$43,430	140
50	East Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$70,160	$36,840	n/a
51	Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, New Hampshire	$70,130	$46,640	140
52	Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$70,000	$39,420	90
53	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$70,000	$40,080	940
54	Columbus, Indiana	$69,980	$39,200	40
55	Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana	$69,840	$47,340	190
56	Bloomington, Indiana	$69,570	$43,030	260
57	St Marys County, Maryland	$69,520	$28,410	30
58	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$69,350	$42,060	370
59	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$69,330	$40,040	1,410
60	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$69,320	$37,130	890
61	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$69,150	$43,980	40
62	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$69,140	$40,720	1,270
63	Syracuse, New York	$69,080	$40,450	420
64	Spokane, Washington	$68,660	$47,060	260
65	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$68,490	$41,600	2,130
66	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$68,230	$41,420	680
67	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$67,910	$36,440	930
68	Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey	$67,870	$33,120	30
69	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$67,820	$44,880	50
70	Redding, California	$67,810	$37,050	60
71	Fargo, North Dakota	$67,800	$43,720	160
72	Camden, New Jersey	$67,760	$40,870	320
73	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$67,730	$41,020	2,620
74	Bloomington-Normal, Illinois	$67,690	$54,400	80
75	Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$67,600	$31,250	40
76	Brunswick, Georgia	$67,420	$41,540	40
77	Capital-Northern New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$67,420	$44,430	140
78	Bismarck, North Dakota	$67,320	$51,810	170
79	Richmond, Virginia	$67,220	$43,330	1,400
80	Manchester, New Hampshire	$67,160	$40,160	200
81	Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Arizona	$67,150	$40,420	50
82	Madison, Wisconsin	$67,080	$46,870	1,490
83	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$66,960	$44,190	1,060
84	Danbury, Connecticut	$66,900	$48,950	70
85	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$66,900	$42,350	4,670
86	Akron, Ohio	$66,890	$36,190	440
87	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$66,830	$51,940	100
88	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$66,770	$36,490	1,290
89	Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area, Connecticut	$66,740	$40,920	30
90	Worcester, Massachusetts	$66,510	$38,480	390
91	Auburn-Opelika, Alabama	$66,390	$42,720	90
92	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$66,320	$44,110	4,990
93	Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida	$66,280	$36,100	170
94	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$66,220	$47,720	100
95	Elizabethtown, Kentucky	$66,210	$43,550	70
96	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$66,160	$39,190	3,930
97	Corvallis, Oregon	$66,130	$40,080	120
98	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$65,970	$38,010	3,830
99	Springfield, Massachusetts	$65,930	$42,090	420
100	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$65,890	$36,620	880

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for public relations specialists.