Legislative director vs director of public affairs

The differences between legislative directors and directors of public affairs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a legislative director and a director of public affairs. Additionally, a director of public affairs has an average salary of $114,639, which is higher than the $65,139 average annual salary of a legislative director.

The top three skills for a legislative director include policy issues, legislative process and press releases. The most important skills for a director of public affairs are government affairs, public policy, and external stakeholders.

Legislative director vs director of public affairs overview

	Legislative Director	Director Of Public Affairs
Yearly salary	$65,139	$114,639
Hourly rate	$31.32	$55.11
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	5,906	26,290
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Legislative director vs director of public affairs salary

Legislative directors and directors of public affairs have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Legislative Director	Director Of Public Affairs
Average salary	$65,139	$114,639
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $141,000	Between $70,000 And $187,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Las Vegas, NV
Highest paying state	Alaska	Nevada
Best paying company	Ashland Hospital Corporation	Kaiser Permanente
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Pharmaceutical

Differences between legislative director and director of public affairs education

There are a few differences between a legislative director and a director of public affairs in terms of educational background:

	Legislative Director	Director Of Public Affairs
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Political Science	Political Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Legislative director vs director of public affairs demographics

Here are the differences between legislative directors' and directors of public affairs' demographics:

	Legislative Director	Director Of Public Affairs
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 62.2% Female, 37.8%	Male, 57.6% Female, 42.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between legislative director and director of public affairs duties and responsibilities

Legislative director example responsibilities.

Publish organizational blogposts and other editorial content and manage relations with coalition partners.
Manage legislative portfolio of organizational policies relative to veterans benefits and military quality of life issues.
Respond to public sector RFP's and submit foundation proposals.
Coordinate preparation of RFP and consultant hiring process for department.
Work closely with web designers to create a state-of-the-art tourism website.
Collaborate with caucus leadership, lobbyists and advocates to advance a variety of bipartisan legislative objectives.

Director of public affairs example responsibilities.

Manage crisis communications, securing any media articles and editorials in support of the company.
Manage communications with students, alumni and faculty, including distribution of all social media
Prepare testimonies for city and state oversight hearings.
Revise and place opinion editorials on behalf of the museum's executive director.
Produce, edit, and publish issue orient videos for YouTube and internet.
Execute Marketing/PR campaigns, events/exhibits, copywriting, and print, broadcast and outdoor advertising.

Legislative director vs director of public affairs skills

Common legislative director skills

Policy Issues, 15%
Legislative Process, 12%
Press Releases, 8%
Public Policy, 7%
Legislative Affairs, 6%
Legislative Issues, 4%

Common director of public affairs skills

Government Affairs, 12%
Public Policy, 11%
External Stakeholders, 7%
Policy Issues, 6%
Government Relations, 5%
Press Releases, 4%

Legislative Director vs. similar jobs

Legislative Director related careers

Legislative Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Legislative Director
Legislative Director vs Director Of Public Affairs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs