Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of writer and editor salary by state for the United States:
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Connecticut has the highest writer and editor salary of $85,416
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Mississippi has the lowest writer and editor salary of $31,712
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The national average salary for writer and editors is $61,482
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The national hourly pay for writer and editors is $29.56
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 writer and editors 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 writer and editor 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 writer and editors after this adjustment? That would be Connecticut.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for writer and editor salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Writer And Editors By State
| Rank | State | Average Writer And Editor Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | $85,416 | $48,000 | $150,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $82,472 | $46,000 | $146,000 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | $82,188 | $46,000 | $143,000 |
| 4 | Virginia | $79,550 | $44,000 | $143,000 |
| 5 | New York | $78,509 | $44,000 | $139,000 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $72,127 | $41,000 | $126,000 |
| 7 | Washington | $71,256 | $39,000 | $128,000 |
| 8 | Illinois | $70,604 | $39,000 | $126,000 |
| 9 | North Dakota | $69,609 | $39,000 | $122,000 |
| 10 | Maryland | $68,569 | $38,000 | $122,000 |
| 11 | Vermont | $67,005 | $38,000 | $116,000 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $66,116 | $37,000 | $116,000 |
| 13 | Maine | $65,934 | $37,000 | $114,000 |
| 14 | West Virginia | $64,728 | $35,000 | $116,000 |
| 15 | Delaware | $64,584 | $36,000 | $114,000 |
| 16 | Michigan | $62,455 | $35,000 | $111,000 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $62,327 | $35,000 | $110,000 |
| 18 | California | $61,269 | $33,000 | $113,000 |
| 19 | Kentucky | $59,117 | $32,000 | $106,000 |
| 20 | Minnesota | $59,116 | $33,000 | $104,000 |
| 21 | Oregon | $58,510 | $32,000 | $104,000 |
| 22 | Idaho | $57,867 | $32,000 | $102,000 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $53,827 | $30,000 | $95,000 |
| 24 | Nevada | $53,808 | $29,000 | $97,000 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $53,747 | $29,000 | $97,000 |
| 26 | Ohio | $53,014 | $29,000 | $94,000 |
| 27 | Wyoming | $52,137 | $30,000 | $90,000 |
| 28 | Colorado | $51,819 | $30,000 | $89,000 |
| 29 | Georgia | $50,490 | $28,000 | $88,000 |
| 30 | New Mexico | $50,177 | $28,000 | $87,000 |
| 31 | Arizona | $49,571 | $27,000 | $88,000 |
| 32 | Oklahoma | $48,932 | $28,000 | $84,000 |
| 33 | South Carolina | $48,413 | $27,000 | $86,000 |
| 34 | Indiana | $48,183 | $26,000 | $86,000 |
| 35 | Arkansas | $47,959 | $27,000 | $83,000 |
| 36 | Tennessee | $46,860 | $26,000 | $83,000 |
| 37 | Alabama | $45,051 | $25,000 | $78,000 |
| 38 | Montana | $44,273 | $25,000 | $77,000 |
| 39 | Texas | $44,241 | $25,000 | $76,000 |
| 40 | South Dakota | $44,164 | $25,000 | $77,000 |
| 41 | Iowa | $43,258 | $24,000 | $76,000 |
| 42 | Utah | $41,159 | $23,000 | $72,000 |
| 43 | Florida | $40,316 | $23,000 | $69,000 |
| 44 | Kansas | $39,555 | $22,000 | $69,000 |
| 45 | Missouri | $39,463 | $22,000 | $69,000 |
| 46 | Alaska | $38,110 | $25,000 | $57,000 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $37,508 | $28,000 | $48,000 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $37,073 | $21,000 | $65,000 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $36,172 | $20,000 | $62,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $31,712 | $18,000 | $55,000 |
Methodology: Writer And Editor Salary By State
To better understand writer and editor 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 writer and editors by state.
We took the average annual salary data for writer and editors from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for writer and editors.
Writer And Editor Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for writer and editors?
The highest-paid state for writer and editors is Connecticut with an average salary of $85,416 per year.
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What city pays writer and editors the most?
Washington, DC pays writer and editors the most with an average salary of $100,149 per year.
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What is the worst state for writer and editors?
The worst state for writer and editors is Mississippi with an average salary of $31,712 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.
