Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2019

3,676

growing 23.6%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$7,560

growing 6.33%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$31,190

growing 4.03%

Average Wage

$74,826

growing 3.4%

People in Workforce

2.35M

growing 3.42%

Average Employee Age

40.3

growing 0.498%

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication degree recipients are Boulder, CO, Lincoln, NE, and Lexington-Fayette, KY. The locations with a relatively high number of Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication degree recipients are Elon, NC, St. Augustine, FL, and South Hill, NY. The most common degree awarded to students studying Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is a bachelors degree.

Communications Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication

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. University of Colorado Boulder awards the most degrees in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication in the US, but Elon University and Flagler College-St Augustine 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, $7,560 for in-state public colleges, and $31,190 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 (98 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (1,891 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication, is Public, 4-year or above (1,891 completions).

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.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,560

Median In-State Public

$31,190

Median Out of State Private

University of Colorado Boulder has the most Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication degree recipients, with 406 degrees awarded in 2019.

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

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

Out of all institutions that offer Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Elon University has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication, with 7.99%.

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication

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.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

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

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 $74,826 and the most common occupations are Other managers, Marketing managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

The industry that employs the most Communications majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

$74,826

Average Wage in Workforce

± $1,217

3.4%

1 Year Growth

± 2.26%

The average salary for Communications majors is $74,826 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.

Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

Highest Paying Pumas

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.

Occupations

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

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

Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 6 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, and journalists, Public relations specialists, and Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 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 Magnetic resonance imaging technologists, Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers, and Physicians.

Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

2.35M

2019 Workforce

± 37,327

3.42%

1 Year Growth

± 2.19%

The number of Communications graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.42%, from 2.27M in 2018 to 2.35M in 2019.

The largest single share of Communications graduates go on to work as Other managers (4.83%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Communications by share of the total number of graduates.

Industries

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 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 Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Advertising, public relations & related services.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 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 Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Paperboard container manufacturing, and Sugar & confectionery products.

Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

2.35M

2019 Workforce

± 37,327

3.42%

1 Year Growth

± 2.19%

The number of Communications graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.42%, from 2.27M in 2018 to 2.35M in 2019.

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

Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Communications majors

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

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 40.3.

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 (2,429 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

40.3

Average Age in 2019

± 0.195 Years

0.498%

1 Year Change

± 0.689%

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 28 years old, which represent 3.51% and 3.36% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and < 1 Year Postsecondary Certificate.

Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 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.

Gender Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (76.2%)

Most Common Gender with a Degree in this Field

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

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
2,429 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
421 degrees awarded
Black or African American
409 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.

Race & Ethnicity by Gender

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Gender Combination

White Female
1,618 degrees awarded
White Male
503 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Female
254 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by gender 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 gender.

Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication is from the 2 Digit Course Communications.

Most Common Countries of Origin

Mexico
16,326 degree recipients
India
15,049 degree recipients
Philippines
12,414 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Austria
6.02 times more than expected
Australia
4.98 times more than expected
Singapore
3.96 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Austria that hold Communications degrees (6.02 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 (16,326 degree recipients).

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 Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication majors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Instructing, and Learning Strategies.

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 Management of Financial Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and Instructing are the three most important skills for people in the field.