Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of reporter salary by state for the United States:
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New Jersey has the highest reporter salary of $57,516
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Alaska has the lowest reporter salary of $30,175
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The national average salary for reporters is $46,667
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The national hourly pay for reporters is $22.44
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 reporters 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 reporter 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 reporters after this adjustment? That would be New Jersey.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for reporter salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Reporters By State
| Rank | State | Average Reporter Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $57,516 | $35,000 | $93,000 |
| 2 | Kentucky | $53,723 | $34,000 | $84,000 |
| 3 | New York | $53,339 | $32,000 | $86,000 |
| 4 | Maryland | $53,195 | $32,000 | $86,000 |
| 5 | Michigan | $51,105 | $31,000 | $82,000 |
| 6 | Ohio | $50,078 | $31,000 | $80,000 |
| 7 | Delaware | $50,076 | $30,000 | $81,000 |
| 8 | Vermont | $49,271 | $31,000 | $76,000 |
| 9 | Maine | $48,717 | $31,000 | $75,000 |
| 10 | Virginia | $47,513 | $29,000 | $77,000 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $46,912 | $30,000 | $72,000 |
| 12 | North Carolina | $46,270 | $29,000 | $73,000 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $46,211 | $28,000 | $74,000 |
| 14 | Connecticut | $45,975 | $28,000 | $74,000 |
| 15 | New Mexico | $45,788 | $29,000 | $70,000 |
| 16 | California | $45,506 | $28,000 | $73,000 |
| 17 | Illinois | $45,283 | $28,000 | $71,000 |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | $44,844 | $27,000 | $73,000 |
| 19 | Florida | $44,792 | $28,000 | $70,000 |
| 20 | Nevada | $44,661 | $28,000 | $71,000 |
| 21 | Arkansas | $44,457 | $29,000 | $68,000 |
| 22 | Louisiana | $44,311 | $28,000 | $68,000 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $44,053 | $27,000 | $70,000 |
| 24 | Arizona | $43,688 | $27,000 | $68,000 |
| 25 | New Hampshire | $43,369 | $27,000 | $68,000 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | $43,348 | $28,000 | $65,000 |
| 27 | Massachusetts | $43,234 | $27,000 | $69,000 |
| 28 | Iowa | $43,219 | $27,000 | $67,000 |
| 29 | Minnesota | $42,383 | $26,000 | $66,000 |
| 30 | Washington | $41,531 | $25,000 | $66,000 |
| 31 | Indiana | $41,525 | $26,000 | $65,000 |
| 32 | Alabama | $41,398 | $26,000 | $63,000 |
| 33 | Georgia | $40,901 | $26,000 | $63,000 |
| 34 | Wisconsin | $40,746 | $25,000 | $65,000 |
| 35 | Missouri | $40,661 | $26,000 | $62,000 |
| 36 | Kansas | $40,520 | $26,000 | $61,000 |
| 37 | Nebraska | $40,039 | $26,000 | $61,000 |
| 38 | Mississippi | $39,460 | $25,000 | $60,000 |
| 39 | Oregon | $39,448 | $24,000 | $63,000 |
| 40 | Texas | $39,027 | $25,000 | $60,000 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $38,531 | $24,000 | $60,000 |
| 42 | Wyoming | $38,452 | $25,000 | $57,000 |
| 43 | Utah | $38,125 | $24,000 | $58,000 |
| 44 | North Dakota | $37,232 | $24,000 | $57,000 |
| 45 | Colorado | $36,882 | $24,000 | $55,000 |
| 46 | Hawaii | $36,873 | $25,000 | $54,000 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $36,746 | $23,000 | $56,000 |
| 48 | Idaho | $34,798 | $22,000 | $54,000 |
| 49 | Montana | $33,489 | $21,000 | $51,000 |
| 50 | Alaska | $30,175 | $19,000 | $46,000 |
Methodology: Reporter Salary By State
To better understand reporter 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 reporters by state.
We took the average annual salary data for reporters from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for reporters.
Reporter Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for reporters?
The highest-paid state for reporters is New Jersey with an average salary of $57,516 per year.
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What city pays reporters the most?
Washington, DC pays reporters the most with an average salary of $60,032 per year.
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What is the worst state for reporters?
The worst state for reporters is Alaska with an average salary of $30,175 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.
