Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of public relations internship salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest public relations internship salary of $38,685
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Alabama has the lowest public relations internship salary of $21,677
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The national average salary for public relations interns is $30,868
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The national hourly pay for public relations interns is $14.84
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 public relations interns 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 public relations internship 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 public relations interns after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for public relations internship salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Public Relations Interns By State
| Rank | State | Average Public Relations Internship Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $38,685 | $30,000 | $49,000 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $36,057 | $28,000 | $45,000 |
| 3 | Alaska | $35,773 | $30,000 | $42,000 |
| 4 | California | $35,333 | $27,000 | $44,000 |
| 5 | Michigan | $33,613 | $26,000 | $43,000 |
| 6 | Arizona | $33,474 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 7 | Maine | $32,851 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 8 | Illinois | $32,777 | $25,000 | $42,000 |
| 9 | Utah | $32,134 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 10 | Vermont | $32,102 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 11 | Nevada | $31,980 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 12 | North Dakota | $31,902 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $31,667 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 14 | North Carolina | $31,447 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 15 | New York | $31,178 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 16 | Hawaii | $30,980 | $26,000 | $35,000 |
| 17 | Oregon | $30,606 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 18 | Montana | $30,014 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 19 | Ohio | $29,903 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $29,350 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 21 | Georgia | $29,314 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 22 | West Virginia | $29,303 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 23 | Indiana | $28,036 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 24 | Kentucky | $27,995 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 25 | Arkansas | $27,955 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 26 | Connecticut | $27,875 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 27 | Minnesota | $27,560 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 28 | Maryland | $27,323 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 29 | Missouri | $27,267 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $27,226 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $27,140 | $20,000 | $35,000 |
| 32 | Tennessee | $26,978 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $26,968 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 34 | Texas | $26,890 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 35 | Colorado | $26,355 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 36 | Delaware | $26,352 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 37 | New Jersey | $26,233 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 38 | Wyoming | $26,224 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $26,123 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 40 | Virginia | $25,474 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 41 | Louisiana | $25,427 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 42 | Iowa | $25,162 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 43 | South Dakota | $24,973 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 44 | Kansas | $24,842 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 45 | Idaho | $24,821 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 46 | New Mexico | $24,573 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 47 | Florida | $24,525 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $23,556 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $23,525 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 50 | Alabama | $21,677 | $17,000 | $27,000 |
Methodology: Public Relations Internship Salary By State
To better understand public relations internship 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 public relations interns by state.
We took the average annual salary data for public relations interns from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for public relations interns.
Public Relations Internship Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for public relations interns?
The highest-paid state for public relations interns is Washington with an average salary of $38,685 per year.
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What city pays public relations interns the most?
Seattle, WA pays public relations interns the most with an average salary of $39,105 per year.
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What is the worst state for public relations interns?
The worst state for public relations interns is Alabama with an average salary of $21,677 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.
