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The differences between community relations specialists and public relations consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a community relations specialist and a public relations consultant. Additionally, a public relations consultant has an average salary of $50,333, which is higher than the $49,344 average annual salary of a community relations specialist.
The top three skills for a community relations specialist include press releases, event planning and community events. The most important skills for a public relations consultant are press releases, web content, and strategic communications.
| Community Relations Specialist | Public Relations Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $49,344 | $50,333 |
| Hourly rate | $23.72 | $24.20 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 28,509 | 27,882 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 81% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A community relations specialist is responsible for handling the organization's community engagements by facilitating fundraising events, volunteering acts, and charity programs and partnerships. Community relations specialists also write content for public and media promotions to promote brand awareness and the company's mission across the community. They should also be updated with the current events and situations to identify events and strategies that will help stabilize the society's condition. Since this type of job requires interacting with community people, a community relations specialist must have excellent communication skills to respond to their inquiries and concerns.
A public relations consultant represents an organization and is the company's way to communicate to the public their plans, decisions, and motivations. They both advertise and show the company's personality and create familiarity and trust. The public relations consultant's role is to create all the PR materials needed to accomplish these goals. It means writing press releases, online content, speeches, and also working with the marketing and advertising team to create copy that will evoke the interest of the public. The ultimate goal is to gain customers and thus increase sales.
Community relations specialists and public relations consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Relations Specialist | Public Relations Consultant | |
| Average salary | $49,344 | $50,333 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $70,000 | Between $29,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alexandria, VA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Washington |
| Best paying company | City National Bank | AbbVie |
| Best paying industry | Government | Media |
There are a few differences between a community relations specialist and a public relations consultant in terms of educational background:
| Community Relations Specialist | Public Relations Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 81% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between community relations specialists' and public relations consultants' demographics:
| Community Relations Specialist | Public Relations Consultant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7% | Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |