Public Relations Specialists · SOC 27-3031

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Public Relations Specialistss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for public relations specialists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 363 metro areas

Public Relations Specialists: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$117,620	2,200	1.9
2	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$103,030	200	1.6
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$102,520	6,290	2.7
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$101,680	22,810	7.3
5	Lexington Park, MD	$99,960	60	0.8
6	Napa, CA	$98,190	80	1.1
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$96,000	3,980	1.9
8	El Centro, CA	$93,100	40	0.6
9	Bloomington, IL	$91,630	110	1.3
10	New Haven, CT	$91,530	420	1.5
11	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$89,640	2,620	2.4
12	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$87,830	710	1.2
13	Salem, OR	$87,740	450	2.4
14	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$85,650	370	1.3
15	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$84,990	450	1.1
16	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$84,990	610	2.5
17	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$84,470	630	4.9
18	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$84,130	24,820	2.6
19	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$83,390	130	1.4
20	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$83,180	180	1.8
21	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$82,930	4,560	2.8
22	Yuba City, CA	$81,650	40	0.7
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$81,440	5,380	2.0
24	Rapid City, SD	$81,330	40	0.5
25	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$81,240	2,730	1.8

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Public Relations Specialists overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.