Highest-paying Cities for Writers and Authors

The top 100 highest paying cities for writers and authors (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 writers and authors in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $113,070, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California is the highest paying city for writers and authors. It is followed by San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (average annual salary $111,860). 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 writers and authors in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Writers and Authors

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$113,070	$48,540	6,580
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$111,860	$60,010	330
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$100,240	$59,290	2,700
4	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$96,210	$43,300	60
5	Boulder, Colorado	$95,120	$33,550	270
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$93,910	$46,240	4,630
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$89,810	$51,080	2,690
8	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$89,280	$52,820	850
9	Ithaca, New York	$87,350	$43,400	30
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$86,520	$49,650	870
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$86,130	$51,820	1,890
12	Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area, Connecticut	$85,670	$43,880	30
13	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$85,020	$46,480	7,130
14	Framingham, Massachusetts	$84,010	$51,720	70
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$83,690	$47,850	730
16	Worcester, Massachusetts	$82,010	$53,240	70
17	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$81,650	$49,060	280
18	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$80,730	$48,610	150
19	Salem, Oregon	$80,000	$43,230	30
20	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$78,850	$45,310	4,530
21	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$78,700	$30,870	420
22	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$76,430	$41,920	140
23	Gainesville, Georgia	$75,140	$37,510	40
24	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$74,980	$45,710	360
25	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$74,510	$41,610	2,400
26	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$74,130	$44,580	590
27	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$73,890	$36,600	50
28	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$73,840	$44,030	200
29	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$73,730	$43,500	260
30	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$73,340	$50,150	980
31	Olympia, Washington	$73,110	$31,860	30
32	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$73,040	$39,730	5,800
33	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$71,810	$28,070	60
34	New Haven, Connecticut	$71,440	$48,290	110
35	Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$71,270	$28,540	n/a
36	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$71,020	$40,170	110
37	Wilmington, North Carolina	$70,990	$36,180	60
38	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$70,980	$38,950	940
39	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$70,830	$32,240	190
40	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$70,560	$48,790	40
41	Erie, Pennsylvania	$70,390	$43,800	n/a
42	Harrisonburg, Virginia	$70,350	$36,050	n/a
43	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$69,720	$44,410	70
44	Kansas City, Missouri	$69,710	$44,240	240
45	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$69,510	$38,680	40
46	Fresno, California	$69,350	$43,750	40
47	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$68,900	$32,800	940
48	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$68,360	$34,880	550
49	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$68,110	$29,540	n/a
50	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$67,640	$34,210	330
51	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$67,500	$33,310	230
52	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$67,400	$36,980	110
53	Salinas, California	$67,380	$45,100	40
54	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$67,240	$45,930	1,000
55	Bend, Oregon	$66,920	$45,500	50
56	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$66,900	$42,670	60
57	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$66,690	$39,720	250
58	Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$66,680	$44,470	40
59	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$66,120	$36,240	110
60	Central New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$65,900	$30,250	40
61	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$65,520	$35,300	400
62	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$65,390	$33,970	190
63	Savannah, Georgia	$65,360	$48,700	50
64	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$65,090	$36,020	330
65	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$65,000	$41,050	510
66	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$64,980	$46,280	40
67	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$64,890	$38,390	380
68	Champaign-Urbana, Illinois	$64,480	$44,000	30
69	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$64,260	$47,730	40
70	Syracuse, New York	$64,070	$41,890	60
71	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$63,550	$29,990	260
72	Rochester, New York	$63,520	$31,570	110
73	Montgomery, Alabama	$63,250	$46,840	30
74	Springfield, Massachusetts	$63,190	$49,080	90
75	Charleston, West Virginia	$63,180	$32,600	30
76	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$62,920	$31,860	1,380
77	Lincoln, Nebraska	$62,890	$44,470	30
78	Albuquerque, New Mexico	$62,830	$57,930	30
79	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$62,820	$40,210	130
80	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$62,740	$30,810	110
81	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$62,440	$44,970	80
82	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$62,400	$33,480	80
83	Richmond, Virginia	$62,340	$47,020	300
84	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$62,240	$37,680	90
85	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$62,100	$42,860	40
86	Honolulu, Hawaii	$61,940	$36,780	100
87	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$61,850	$28,580	110
88	Spokane, Washington	$61,820	$38,830	60
89	West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$61,730	$28,620	60
90	Visalia-Porterville, California	$61,610	$39,630	n/a
91	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$61,570	$35,400	540
92	Charlottesville, Virginia	$61,500	$22,880	90
93	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$61,390	$37,450	40
94	St Louis, Missouri	$61,360	$37,860	300
95	Anchorage, Alaska	$61,310	$43,160	60
96	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$61,160	$42,450	310
97	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$61,130	$36,850	370
98	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$60,980	$29,120	1,030
99	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$60,770	$30,790	270
100	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$60,590	$32,880	60

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for writers and authors.