Writers & authors

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2019 Workforce

167k

Average Age

42.9

Estimated Job Growth

−2.29%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$62,070

Average Male Salary

$72,719

Average Female Salary

$55,036

About

Writers & authors are most often employed by the Independent artists, writers, and performers industry. The average yearly wage for Writers & authors was $62,070 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Writers & authors by wage are Paramedics, Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers, and Other healthcare practitioners & technical Occupations.

Writers & authors 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 Writers & authors are LA City (Central/Pacific Palisades) PUMA, CA, LA City (East Central/Hollywood) PUMA, CA, and Seattle City (Northwest) PUMA, WA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Writers & authors are LA City (Central/Pacific Palisades) PUMA, CA, LA City (East Central/Hollywood) PUMA, CA, and Tompkins County PUMA, NY.

Photo by Lane Pearman

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 Writers & authors and on wages and locations for those in the field. Independent artists, writers, and performers is the industry that employs the most Writers & authors, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Writers & authors, by average wage, is Broadcasting (except internet). Writers & authors are paid most in LA City (East Central/Silver Lake, Echo Park & Westlake) PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in LA City (Central/Pacific Palisades) PUMA, CA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$62,070

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,379

In 2019, Writers & authors earned an average of $62,070, $6,546 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers make somewhat more than Writers & authors while Paramedics make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Writers & authors as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.488

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Writers & authors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.488, which is higher than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly for Writers & authors (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 Writers & authors.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Writers & authors

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

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Writers & authors, by number of employees, are Independent artists, writers, and performers, Advertising, public relations & related services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services, Periodical, book, & directory publishers, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Computer Systems Design, Motion pictures & video industries, Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, Newspaper publishers, and Scientific research & development services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Writers & authors, by average wage, are Broadcasting (except internet), Motion pictures & video industries, and Electronics stores.

Industries by Share

167k

2019 Workforce

± 10,041

−7.56%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 9%

The number of people employed as Writers & authors has been declining at a rate of −7.56%, from 181,131 people in 2018 to 167,435 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Writers & authors employed by various industries. Independent artists, writers, and performers employs the largest share of Writers & authors at 15.6%, followed by Advertising, public relations & related services with 8.58% and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 7.71%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Writers & authors in the US. The average age of male Writers & authors in the workforce is 44 and of female Writers & authors is 42.2, and the most common race/ethnicity for Writers & authors is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

66.6k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 6,335

101k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 7,793

60.2% of Writers & authors are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Writers & authors.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Writers & authors

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

80.7% of Writers & authors are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 6.16% of Writers & authors, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Writers & authors.

Age by Gender

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.48

42.2

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.13

The median age of Writers & authors is 42.9, and Male employees are generally 1.81 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Writers & authors from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Writers & authors is Communications but a relatively high number of Writers & authors hold a major in English.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Writers & authors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Writers & authors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Writers & authors need more than the average amount of Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Persuasion.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Writers and Authors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Writers and Authors are expected to see a growth of −2.29% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Writers and Authors.

−2.29%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Writers and Authors. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.