Public relations specialists

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2019 Workforce

119k

Average Age

40.8

Average Salary

$83,895

Average Male Salary

$103,024

Average Female Salary

$73,311

About

Public relations specialists are most often employed by the Advertising, public relations & related services industry. The average yearly wage for Public relations specialists was $83,895 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Public relations specialists by wage are Miscellaneous mathematical science occupations, including mathematicians & statisticians, Urban & regional planners, and Training & development managers.

Public relations specialists are part of the Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations, along with Artists & related workers, Commercial and industrial designers, Fashion designers, Floral designers, Graphic designers, and 25 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Public relations specialists are District of Columbia (Central) PUMA, DC, District of Columbia (North) PUMA, DC, and Lake View & Lincoln Park PUMA, IL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Public relations specialists are District of Columbia (Central) PUMA, DC, District of Columbia (North) PUMA, DC, and District of Columbia (Northeast) PUMA, DC.

Photo by The U.S. Army

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Public relations specialists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Advertising, public relations & related services is the industry that employs the most Public relations specialists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Public relations specialists, by average wage, is Nondepository credit & related activities. Public relations specialists are paid most in District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC but are relatively concentrated in District of Columbia (Central) PUMA, DC.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$83,895

AVERAGE SALARY

± $5,915

In 2019, Public relations specialists earned an average of $83,895, $28,371 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Miscellaneous mathematical science occupations, including mathematicians & statisticians make somewhat more than Public relations specialists while Urban & regional planners make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Public relations specialists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.453

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Public relations specialists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.453, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Public relations specialists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Public relations specialists.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Public relations specialists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Public relations specialists.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Public relations specialists, by number of employees, are Advertising, public relations & related services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Public relations specialists, by average wage, are Support activities for mining, Aircraft & parts manufacturing, Legal services, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Nondepository credit & related activities, Wired telecommunications carriers (Legacy), Electric & gas, and other combinations, Motion pictures & video industries, Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Electronics stores, Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Nondepository credit & related activities, Aircraft & parts manufacturing, Drugs, sundries, & chemical & allied products merchant wholesalers , Aircraft & parts manufacturing, Legal services, and Banking & related activities.

Industries by Share

119k

2019 Workforce

± 8,454

-14.5%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 11.3%

The number of people employed as Public relations specialists has been declining at a rate of -14.5%, from 138,724 people in 2018 to 118,668 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Public relations specialists employed by various industries. Advertising, public relations & related services employs the largest share of Public relations specialists at 18.3%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 6.43% and Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services with 5.95%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Public relations specialists in the US. The average age of male Public relations specialists in the workforce is 43.1 and of female Public relations specialists is 39.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Public relations specialists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

42.3k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,047

76.4k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 6,784

64.4% of Public relations specialists are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Public relations specialists.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Public relations specialists

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

76.4% of Public relations specialists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 7.95% of Public relations specialists, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Public relations specialists.

Age by Gender

43.1

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.66

39.5

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.17

The median age of Public relations specialists is 40.8, and Male employees are generally 3.54 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Public relations specialists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Public relations specialists is Communications but a relatively high number of Public relations specialists hold a major in Communications.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Public relations specialists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public relations specialists need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Active Listening, and Social Perceptiveness. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Public relations specialists need more than the average amount of Operations Analysis, Time Management, and Persuasion.