Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of communications specialist salary by state for the United States:
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New Jersey has the highest communications specialist salary of $59,402
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Louisiana has the lowest communications specialist salary of $36,384
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The national average salary for communications specialists is $51,023
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The national hourly pay for communications specialists is $24.53
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do communications specialists get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for communications specialist by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for communications specialists after this adjustment? That would be New Jersey.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for communications specialist salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Communications Specialists By State
| Rank | State | Average Communications Specialist Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $59,402 | $41,000 | $85,000 |
| 2 | Connecticut | $59,008 | $41,000 | $84,000 |
| 3 | New York | $57,469 | $40,000 | $82,000 |
| 4 | Washington | $56,705 | $39,000 | $81,000 |
| 5 | Maryland | $55,964 | $38,000 | $80,000 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $55,473 | $39,000 | $78,000 |
| 7 | Virginia | $55,414 | $38,000 | $79,000 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $55,160 | $39,000 | $77,000 |
| 9 | California | $54,447 | $36,000 | $80,000 |
| 10 | Hawaii | $53,613 | $41,000 | $69,000 |
| 11 | Delaware | $53,481 | $37,000 | $77,000 |
| 12 | Oregon | $52,507 | $36,000 | $76,000 |
| 13 | Nevada | $52,060 | $35,000 | $76,000 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $51,927 | $37,000 | $72,000 |
| 15 | Alaska | $51,840 | $41,000 | $64,000 |
| 16 | Michigan | $51,056 | $35,000 | $73,000 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $49,978 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
| 18 | New Mexico | $49,503 | $34,000 | $70,000 |
| 19 | Colorado | $49,239 | $35,000 | $69,000 |
| 20 | North Dakota | $49,201 | $35,000 | $68,000 |
| 21 | Ohio | $49,124 | $34,000 | $70,000 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $49,082 | $34,000 | $69,000 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $48,786 | $34,000 | $69,000 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $48,302 | $33,000 | $69,000 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $47,961 | $33,000 | $67,000 |
| 26 | Kentucky | $47,730 | $33,000 | $67,000 |
| 27 | Tennessee | $47,542 | $34,000 | $66,000 |
| 28 | Illinois | $46,758 | $33,000 | $66,000 |
| 29 | Vermont | $46,543 | $33,000 | $64,000 |
| 30 | Idaho | $46,511 | $32,000 | $66,000 |
| 31 | Nebraska | $44,430 | $31,000 | $62,000 |
| 32 | Utah | $43,914 | $30,000 | $62,000 |
| 33 | Arkansas | $43,599 | $31,000 | $60,000 |
| 34 | Indiana | $43,304 | $30,000 | $61,000 |
| 35 | Arizona | $43,027 | $30,000 | $61,000 |
| 36 | Texas | $42,214 | $29,000 | $59,000 |
| 37 | Georgia | $41,670 | $29,000 | $58,000 |
| 38 | Iowa | $41,515 | $29,000 | $58,000 |
| 39 | Maine | $41,314 | $29,000 | $57,000 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $40,610 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| 41 | Missouri | $40,149 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $39,839 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $39,609 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 44 | Alabama | $38,792 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 45 | Montana | $38,671 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $37,715 | $26,000 | $52,000 |
| 47 | Kansas | $37,401 | $26,000 | $52,000 |
| 48 | Florida | $37,286 | $26,000 | $53,000 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $36,622 | $26,000 | $51,000 |
| 50 | Louisiana | $36,384 | $25,000 | $51,000 |
Methodology: Communications Specialist Salary By State
To better understand communications specialist pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for communications specialists by state.
We took the average annual salary data for communications specialists from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for communications specialists.
Communications Specialist Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for communications specialists?
The highest-paid state for communications specialists is New Jersey with an average salary of $59,402 per year.
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What city pays communications specialists the most?
Washington, DC pays communications specialists the most with an average salary of $63,271 per year.
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What is the worst state for communications specialists?
The worst state for communications specialists is Louisiana with an average salary of $36,384 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
