Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for authors in the United States
Author job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected author job growth rate is 4% from 2018-2028.
About 5,900 new jobs for authors are projected over the next decade.
Author salaries have increased 10% for authors in the last 5 years.
There are over 7,591 authors currently employed in the United States.
There are 953 active author job openings in the US.
The average author salary is $78,368.
Are author jobs in demand?
No, author jobs are not in demand. Author demand is projected to decline 4% from 2018 to 2028.
Author job and salary trends over time
Compare the number of author jobs and the average author salary over time.
Author jobs over time
Author job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7,591 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 6,797 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 7,046 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 6,946 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 6,960 | 0.00% |
Average author salary over time
Author salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $78,368 | $37.68 | +6.2% |
| 2025 | $73,791 | $35.48 | +1.7% |
| 2024 | $72,588 | $34.90 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | $72,180 | $34.70 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | $71,503 | $34.38 | +1.6% |
Author jobs by state
The map below shows you the number of author job openings in each state. The darker areas on the map show where authors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Average salary: Job openings:
Most common states for authors
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 10 | 2% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 5 | 1% |
| 3 | California | 39,536,653 | 58 | 0% |
| 4 | New York | 19,849,399 | 50 | 0% |
| 5 | Texas | 28,304,596 | 45 | 0% |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 23 | 0% |
| 7 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 16 | 0% |
| 8 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 15 | 0% |
| 9 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 13 | 0% |
| 10 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 11 | 0% |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 7 | 0% |
| 12 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 7 | 0% |
| 13 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 5 | 0% |
| 14 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 5 | 0% |
| 15 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 2 | 0% |
| 16 | Vermont | 623,657 | 1 | 0% |
| 17 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 1 | 0% |
| 18 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 1 | 0% |
| 19 | Louisiana | 4,684,333 | 1 | 0% |
| 20 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 0 | 0% |
Most common cities for authors
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly | 1 | 2% | $114,747 |
| 2 | Littleton | 1 | 2% | $68,115 |
| 3 | Minnetonka | 1 | 2% | $79,213 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 2 | 0% | $111,772 |
| 5 | Dallas | 1 | 0% | $77,687 |
| 6 | Detroit | 1 | 0% | $55,395 |