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Publication specialist salary

Quoted expert
Peter Bicak Ph.D.

Average publication specialist salary

$55,554

$26.71 hourly rate

Entry-level publication specialist salary
$36,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding the Salary of a Publication Specialist

A Publication Specialist typically earns an average salary of $55,554 annually, with variations depending on factors such as experience, geographical location, and specific industry sectors. For instance, specialists in major cities or those with advanced skills may command higher salaries. Additionally, the salary can increase with years of experience and expertise in niche areas.

Across the United States, states like California and New York offer competitive pay, often exceeding the national average. In major metropolitan areas, such as San Francisco and New York City, salaries may reach upwards of $70,000 per year. On the other hand, smaller cities may reflect lower averages.

To further enhance earning potential, pursuing certifications or specialized training can play a significant role. Professionals who continuously update their skills tend to experience greater career advancement opportunities. As the demand for skilled publication specialists grows, exploring diverse roles in editorial management, content strategy, or digital publishing can lead to lucrative positions.

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Where can a Publication Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
95k
75k
55k
35k
15k
Columbus, OH$81,691
Oklahoma City, OK$44,554
Compare salary by company
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134k
114k
94k
74k
54k
34k
Meta$121,372
King County$64,343

Average publication specialist salary by state

The highest-paying states for publication specialists are Washington, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The lowest average publication specialist salary states are Alabama, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for publication specialists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1District of Columbia$81,626$39.24
2North Carolina$61,189$29.42
3Pennsylvania$63,923$30.73
4Massachusetts$68,350$32.86
5Washington$75,212$36.16
6North Dakota$59,001$28.37
7Oregon$61,847$29.73
8Ohio$66,159$31.81
9Virginia$60,678$29.17
10Connecticut$70,172$33.74
11New Jersey$67,773$32.58
12Rhode Island$62,539$30.07
13Maryland$61,754$29.69
14Illinois$62,864$30.22
15Delaware$57,739$27.76
16Arizona$57,138$27.47
17Arkansas$55,955$26.90
18Alaska$59,861$28.78
19West Virginia$56,301$27.07
20New York$58,711$28.23
21Wyoming$50,714$24.38
22Vermont$53,755$25.84
23New Hampshire$59,418$28.57
24Nebraska$50,717$24.38
25Michigan$54,184$26.05
26South Dakota$49,250$23.68
27California$63,380$30.47
28Idaho$54,879$26.38
29Nevada$51,080$24.56
30Iowa$48,836$23.48
31Tennessee$50,834$24.44
32Kentucky$54,038$25.98
33New Mexico$52,074$25.04
34Utah$47,227$22.71
35Hawaii$48,585$23.36
36Indiana$50,797$24.42
37Colorado$51,719$24.86
38Minnesota$49,356$23.73
39Louisiana$45,979$22.11
40Georgia$46,616$22.41
41Texas$45,681$21.96
42Wisconsin$48,106$23.13
43Montana$46,489$22.35
44Oklahoma$44,613$21.45
45Alabama$44,732$21.51
46Florida$37,478$18.02
47Kansas$44,198$21.25
48Missouri$46,782$22.49
49Maine$45,792$22.02
50South Carolina$42,494$20.43
51Mississippi$40,418$19.43

Highest paying cities for publication specialists

The highest-paying cities for publication specialists are Washington, DC, Seattle, WA, and Malden, MA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Washington, DC$81,691$39.27
2Seattle, WA$75,490$36.29
3Malden, MA$68,340$32.86
4San Rafael, CA$67,437$32.42
5Durham, NC$62,720$30.15
6Portland, OR$61,923$29.77
7Baltimore, MD$61,841$29.73
8Arlington, VA$61,669$29.65
9Anchorage, AK$59,642$28.67
10New York, NY$58,885$28.31
11Phoenix, AZ$57,423$27.61
12Albuquerque, NM$52,177$25.09
13Indianapolis, IN$50,577$24.32
14Minneapolis, MN$49,336$23.72
15Oak Creek, WI$48,122$23.14
16Saint Louis, MO$47,007$22.60
17Bozeman, MT$46,030$22.13
18Austin, TX$45,923$22.08
19New Orleans, LA$45,851$22.04
20Oklahoma City, OK$44,554$21.42

Publication specialist salary details

A publication specialist's salary ranges from $36,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $84,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average publication specialist salary graph
Average publication specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a publication specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$84,000$7,000$40
75th Percentile$69,000$5,750$33
Average$55,554$4,630$27
25th Percentile$44,000$3,667$21
10th Percentile$36,000$3,000$17

Highest paying publication specialist jobs

The highest paying types of publication specialists are communications consultant, senior communications specialist, and public affairs specialist.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Media Coordinator$47,471$3,956$22.8235,285
Account Coordinator$39,973$3,331$19.2293,480
Digital Media Internship$32,033$2,669$15.4072,449
Social Media Internship$31,145$2,595$14.9779,411
Communications Internship$33,458$2,788$16.0962,641
Communications Consultant$91,455$7,621$43.9729,942

How would you rate the starting salaries for publication specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Peter Bicak Ph.D.

Professor of Communication, Rockhurst University

I would rate them as competitive. Business Communication, if truly comprehensive, has substantial depth and breadth of opportunities. Interdisciplinary BC majors should have significant writing opportunities, including for social media, traditional media, and journalism. The most prominent options are likely to fall in marketing, public relations, advertising, sales, and management due to the students' experience with basic business units such as accounting, economics, data science, and management. Internal and external organizational communication will always be a part of our corporate, civic, political, and economic lives-one still has to "get the word out" in ways appropriate to the organization for whom he or she works.

Thus, these technologies will be the key instruments for doing so, and there will be a place for business (organizational) communicators. While the major is not designed to be immersive in business instruction, it provides insights that give a graduate a leg up. So, advancement is substantial. For example, a major who enters the advertising and marketing field as an account manager likely has opportunities in the areas (e.g., working on an account in pharmaceuticals leads to other options not just in PR or advertising, but within the pharmaceutical field itself) in which that account exists, given their experience.

Top companies hiring publication specialists now:

  1. Meta jobs (5)
  2. Autodesk jobs (5)
  3. Western Area Power Administration jobs (7)
  4. Bonneville Power Administration jobs (17)
  5. ANSER jobs (3)

Which companies pay publication specialists the most?

Publication specialist salaries at Meta and Autodesk are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average publication specialist salary at companies like Western Area Power Administration and Amazon are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Meta$121,372$58.35
2Autodesk$97,455$46.85
3Western Area Power Administration$94,168$45.27
4Amazon$91,535$44.01
5UiPath$90,186$43.36
6Bonneville Power Administration$89,006$42.79
7Valero Energy$86,684$41.67
8City of Jacksonville$79,019$37.99
9AECOM$74,958$36.04
10Jet Propulsion Laboratory$74,531$35.83
11Burns & McDonnell$74,407$35.77
12Accenture$73,174$35.18
13Kimley-Horn$70,079$33.69
14David Evans and Associates$70,056$33.68
15HNTB$70,017$33.66
16Xerox State Healthcare LLC$68,055$32.72
17Wsp USA Buildings Inc.$67,298$32.35
18TalentBurst$66,119$31.79
19Bank of America$65,259$31.37
20King County$64,343$30.93

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$56,000$55,200$54,400$53,600$52,800$52,000
MaleFemale

Publication specialist salary trends

The average publication specialist salary has risen by $8,509 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average publication specialist earned $47,045 annually, but today, they earn $55,554 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for publication specialists over the last decade.

Compare publication specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average publication specialist salary over time

Compare publication specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Publication specialist salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$55,600$26.71+2.6%
2024$54,100$26.00+1.9%
2023$53,100$25.51+1.2%
2022$52,400$25.22+2.2%
2021$51,300$24.67+2.2%

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