Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-3031

Public Relations Specialists

The published band from $44,110 to $135,150 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Special Effects Artists and Animators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Public Relations Specialists: Special Effects Artists and Animators ($102K) , Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners ($72K) , Set and Exhibit Designers ($75K) , Fashion Designers ($81K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Public Relations Specialists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-3031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source
  2. 2. Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's acco…
  3. 3. Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets
  4. 4. Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients
  5. 5. Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups
  6. 6. Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions
  7. 7. Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees
  8. 8. Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public o…
  9. 9. Prepare or edit organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports, for internal or external audiences
  10. 10. Arrange public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits for clients to increase product or service awareness or to promote goodwill
  11. 11. Plan or conduct market or public opinion research to test products or determine potential for product success, communicating results to c…
  12. 12. Develop plans or materials to communicate organizational activities that are beneficial to the environment, public safety, or other impor…

Public Relations Specialists: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-3031 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Communications and Media. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.1
  2. 2. Speaking 4.1
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  4. 4. Writing 4.0
  5. 5. Social Perceptiveness 4.0
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.9
  7. 7. Coordination 3.9
  8. 8. Time Management 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Communications and Media 4.9
  2. 2. English Language 4.7
  3. 3. Administration and Management 4.0
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  5. 5. Sales and Marketing 3.9
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$44,110 to $135,150
median $74,750 · ~3.1× spread
$75K
National median
↑ +5%
Growth 2024-2034
27,600
Annual openings
283,380
Estimated US jobs
Special Effects Artists and Animators
Highest-pay peer · $102K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Public Relations Specialists

1. New York $81,250
2. Maryland $79,560
3. California $85,030
4. Virginia $80,380
5. New Jersey $80,130
6. Washington $87,470
7. District of Columbia $102,740
8. Colorado $80,680
9. Connecticut $84,990
10. Massachusetts $79,660

Other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles

  1. 1. Set and Exhibit Designers $75,240
  2. 2. Special Effects Artists and Animators $102,030
  3. 3. Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners $72,420
  4. 4. Fashion Designers $80,960
  5. 5. Editors $77,920
  6. 6. Commercial and Industrial Designers $83,910

The OEWS band for Public Relations Specialists runs from $44,110 (10th) to $135,150 (90th), about 3.1× wide, with median $74,750. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +5% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 27,600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New York at $81,250. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Special Effects Artists and Animators at $102,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Public Relations Specialists pay-rank #12 in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Among 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations with a published OEWS median, Public Relations Specialists is pay-rank #12, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Public Relations Specialists is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Public Relations Specialists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-3031

New York · top state for Public Relations Specialists

$81K published median

Maryland · #2 state pay

$80K · behind New York

Special Effects Artists and Animators

Highest-pay peer vs Public Relations Specialists · $102K

Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners

Lower-pay peer beside Public Relations Specialists · $72K

Compare Public Relations Specialists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Public Relations Specialists with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles sit near Public Relations Specialists at the top of the pay table? ▼
Public Relations Specialists is pay-rank #12 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film ($75K), Set and Exhibit Designers ($75K), Film and Video Editors ($75K), Writers and Authors ($77K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do public relations specialists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Public Relations Specialists. Leading ones include: Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source; Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's acco…; Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets; Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for public relations specialists? ▼
For SOC 27-3031, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.1), Speaking (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0), Writing (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Communications and Media, English Language, Administration and Management. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Public Relations Specialists? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $44,110 and the 90th at $135,150 for Public Relations Specialists (3.1× spread). The national median is $74,750. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Public Relations Specialists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Public Relations Specialists is +5%. Projected annual openings: about 27,600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Public Relations Specialists? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Public Relations Specialists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Public Relations Specialists? ▼
New York ($81,250), Maryland ($79,560), California ($85,030) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Public Relations Specialists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-3031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Public Relations Specialists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics