Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2023
20,666
declining 2.86%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$8,811
growing 1.45%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$37,194
growing 3.46%
Average Wage
$90,232
growing 5.05%
People in Workforce
2.52M
growing 3.18%
Average Employee Age
40.8
growing 0.746%

About

In 2023, the locations with the highest concentration of Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication degree recipients are New York, NY, South Hooksett, NH, and Washington, DC. In 2023, the locations with a relatively high number of Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication degree recipients are Orrville, OH, Elon, NC, and South Hill, NY. The most common degree awarded to students studying Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is a bachelors degree.

Communications

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication and the types of students that study this field. Southern New Hampshire University awards the most degrees in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication in the US, but University of Akron Wayne College and Miami Media School have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication.

Tuition costs for Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication majors are, on average, $8,811 for in-state public colleges, and $37,194 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (322 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (13,256 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication (2023)
  1. Southern New Hampshire University
    787 degrees awarded
  2. Fashion Institute of Technology
    625 degrees awarded
  3. The University of Texas at Austin
    548 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication, is Public, 4-year or above (13,256 completions in 2023).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$8,811
Median In-State Public
$37,194
Median Out of State Private

Southern New Hampshire University has the most Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication degree recipients, with 787 degrees awarded in 2023.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication.

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Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution
  1. University of Akron Wayne College
    100%
  2. Miami Media School
    31.9%
  3. Fashion Institute of Technology
    16.9%

Out of all institutions that offer Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, University of Akron Wayne College has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication, with 100%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication
  1. Merrimack County, NH
    787 degrees awarded
  2. New York County, NY
    749 degrees awarded
  3. Los Angeles County, CA
    573 degrees awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication by year.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Communications graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Communications majors is $90,232 and the most common occupations are Other managers, Marketing managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

The industry that employs the most Communications majors is uninformed, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production & processing.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.
$90,232
Average Wage in Workforce
± $1,416
5.05%
1 Year Growth
± 2.14%

The average salary for Communications majors is $90,232 and the most common occupations are Other managers, Marketing managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Communications majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.
Highest Paying Pumas
  1. Mohave County North--City of Kingman & Bullhead City PUMA, AZ
    $240,062
  2. Phoenix City--Maryvale (East) PUMA, AZ
    $203,926
  3. Santa Clara County (Central)--San Jose City (Central) PUMA, CA
    $183,074

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Communications majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Communications majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

The most common occupations for Communications majors, by number of employees, are Other managers, Marketing managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

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Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Communications majors working as News analysts, reporters & correspondents, Public relations specialists, and Public relations & fundraising managers.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Communications majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Nuclear medicine technologists and medical dosimetrists.

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Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.
2.52M
2023 Workforce
± 38,624
3.18%
1 Year Growth
± 2.12%

The number of Communications graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.18%, from 2.44M in 2022 to 2.52M in 2023.

The largest single share of Communications graduates go on to work as Other managers (5.1%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Communications by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

The most common industries that employ Communications majors, by number of employees, are uninformed, Elementary & secondary schools, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

The highest paying industries of Communications majors, by average wage, are Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production & processing, Oil & gas extraction, and Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing.

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Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.
2.52M
2023 Workforce
± 38,624
3.18%
1 Year Growth
± 2.12%

The number of Communications graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.18%, from 2.44M in 2022 to 2.52M in 2023.

The industry which employs the most Communications graduates by share is uninformed, followed by Elementary & secondary schools. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Communications.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.
PUMAS with a relatively high number of Communications majors
  1. Los Angeles County (Central)--West Hollywood & Beverly Hills Cities PUMA, CA
    5.84
  2. Los Angeles County (Central)--LA City (Central) PUMA, CA
    5.1
  3. Los Angeles County (West Central)--LA City (Central/Hancock Park & Mid-Wilshire) PUMA, CA
    4.46

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Communications majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Communications majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Communications in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Communications is 40.8.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Communications degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Communications (12,551 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.
40.8
Average Age in 2023
± 0.189 Years
0.746%
1 Year Change
± 0.657%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Communications. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 32 years old, which represent 3.29% and 3.17% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Certificate of at least 1 but less than 2 academic years.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Communications are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (71.4%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    12,551 degrees awarded
  2. Hispanic or Latino
    3,114 degrees awarded
  3. Black or African American
    1,790 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. White Female
    7,064 degrees awarded
  2. White Male
    2,889 degrees awarded
  3. Hispanic or Latino Female
    1,760 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication.

White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.
Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. Mexico
    18,434 degree recipients
  2. India
    15,567 degree recipients
  3. Philippines
    14,261 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Antigua & Barbuda
    6.61 times more than expected
  2. Samoa
    5.69 times more than expected
  3. Australia
    4.73 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Antigua & Barbuda that hold Communications degrees (6.61 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Mexico (18,434 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication majors need many skills, but most especially Writing. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication majors need more than the average amount of Persuasion, Social Perceptiveness, and Service Orientation.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Persuasion is very distinctive for majors, but the Writing, Speaking, and Active Listening are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

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Bar Chart

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