How much does a communications director make?

The average communications director salary in the United States is $107,700. Communications director salaries typically range between $61,000 and $188,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for communications directors is $51.78 per hour. Communications director salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Communications directors earn the highest average salary in Nevada.

Communications director salary

Q: What state pays Communications Directors the most?

Nevada pays Communications Directors the most in the United States, with an average salary of $132,015 per year, or $63.47 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a communications director?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a communications director if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in California you should be paid close to $124,541 per year.

Q: How long does it take to become a communications director?

It takes about seven to ten years of work experience in the communications field to become a communications director. This is typically in addition to a bachelor's or master's degree, usually in journalism or communications.

Q: How much money does a communications director make?

A communications director makes around $90,000 a year on average. However, this can vary significantly, with the bottom percentile earning only around $85,000 a year, while top earners can make over $130,000 as a communications director.

Average communications director salary

$107,700

$51.78 hourly rate

Entry-level communications director salary

$61,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Communications Director Salaries

The role of a Communications Director is vital in shaping an organization’s message and public relations strategy. With an average annual salary of $107,700, this position offers a competitive compensation package. Salaries can vary widely based on factors like geographic location, industry type, and years of experience. For instance, Communications Directors in metropolitan areas often earn more due to higher living costs and demand for skilled professionals.

Salary by State

In states like California and New York, salaries can exceed the national average, reflecting the demand for top talent in bustling markets. Conversely, regions with lower living costs may offer lower salaries. It’s essential for prospective candidates to consider these factors when evaluating job offers.

Career Opportunities

Numerous industries seek Communications Directors, including healthcare, technology, and non-profits. Each sector presents unique challenges and growth opportunities. Candidates should focus on industries that align with their skills to maximize their earning potential.

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Communications director salary by:

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Where can a Communications Director earn more?

Compare salary by location

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130k

110k

90k

70k

Columbus, OH$131,325

Lincoln, NE$99,539

Compare salary by company

244k

224k

204k

184k

164k

144k

McKinsey & Company Inc$226,888

Coty$173,900

Communications director salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a communications director typically falls between $46,000 and $185,052.

zippia

$107,700yearly

glassdoor[1]

$111,292yearly

comparably[2]

$46,000yearly

Salary.com[3]

$185,052yearly

ZipRecruiter[4]

$102,500yearly

payscale[5]

$73,725yearly

Average communications director salary by state

The average communications director salary in Nevada, California, and New Jersey are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average communications director salary states are Alabama, Wisconsin, and South Carolina.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for communications directors

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Delaware	$122,425	$58.86
2	Massachusetts	$122,821	$59.05
3	Nevada	$132,015	$63.47
4	New Jersey	$122,995	$59.13
5	California	$124,541	$59.88
6	Idaho	$118,127	$56.79
7	Vermont	$111,076	$53.40
8	New Hampshire	$116,164	$55.85
9	Oklahoma	$105,065	$50.51
10	New Mexico	$117,411	$56.45
11	Virginia	$113,678	$54.65
12	South Dakota	$102,325	$49.19
13	Arkansas	$103,010	$49.52
14	Pennsylvania	$112,264	$53.97
15	Montana	$110,389	$53.07
16	Iowa	$103,368	$49.70
17	Ohio	$115,729	$55.64
18	Washington	$110,759	$53.25
19	District of Columbia	$110,703	$53.22
20	New York	$106,145	$51.03
21	Rhode Island	$103,725	$49.87
22	North Dakota	$103,276	$49.65
23	Arizona	$105,757	$50.84
24	Georgia	$104,395	$50.19
25	Oregon	$102,837	$49.44
26	Michigan	$104,172	$50.08
27	Maryland	$105,104	$50.53
28	Louisiana	$95,558	$45.94
29	Tennessee	$100,530	$48.33
30	Kansas	$102,124	$49.10
31	Texas	$98,203	$47.21
32	Nebraska	$99,296	$47.74
33	Alaska	$95,963	$46.14
34	Indiana	$97,440	$46.85
35	Illinois	$96,591	$46.44
36	Utah	$90,259	$43.39
37	Alabama	$83,708	$40.24
38	Connecticut	$95,322	$45.83
39	Missouri	$95,592	$45.96
40	Wyoming	$83,908	$40.34
41	Mississippi	$80,144	$38.53
42	North Carolina	$88,429	$42.51
43	West Virginia	$89,000	$42.79
44	Minnesota	$91,699	$44.09
45	Hawaii	$75,719	$36.40
46	Maine	$87,437	$42.04
47	Kentucky	$88,100	$42.36
48	Colorado	$88,690	$42.64
49	Wisconsin	$83,228	$40.01
50	South Carolina	$81,049	$38.97
51	Florida	$78,993	$37.98

Top communications director jobs near you

Highest paying cities for communications directors

The highest-paying cities for communications directors are San Francisco, CA, Newark, NJ, and Boston, MA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$131,325	$63.14
2	Newark, NJ	$125,287	$60.23
3	Boston, MA	$125,051	$60.12
4	Dover, DE	$124,844	$60.02
5	Columbus, OH	$117,013	$56.26
6	Philadelphia, PA	$114,137	$54.87
7	Charlottesville, VA	$113,996	$54.81
8	Olympia, WA	$112,647	$54.16
9	Washington, DC	$111,816	$53.76
10	Phoenix, AZ	$107,158	$51.52
11	New York, NY	$106,982	$51.43
12	Oklahoma City, OK	$106,349	$51.13
13	Baltimore, MD	$105,946	$50.94
14	Atlanta, GA	$105,109	$50.53
15	Eugene, OR	$104,247	$50.12
16	Providence, RI	$104,201	$50.10
17	Little Rock, AR	$103,782	$49.90
18	Des Moines, IA	$101,747	$48.92
19	Austin, TX	$100,485	$48.31
20	Lincoln, NE	$99,539	$47.86

Communications director salary details

A communications director's salary ranges from $61,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $188,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average communications director salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a communications director's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$188,000	$15,667	$90
75th Percentile	$144,000	$12,000	$69
Average	$107,700	$8,975	$52
25th Percentile	$80,000	$6,667	$38
10th Percentile	$61,000	$5,083	$29

Highest paying communications director jobs

The highest paying types of communications directors are vice president of communication, director, customer relations, and director of public affairs.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Director, Customer Relations	$134,672	$11,223	$64.75	26,470
Director Of Public Affairs	$114,639	$9,553	$55.11	26,290
Public Relations Manager	$91,426	$7,619	$43.95	35,273
Vice President Of Communication	$156,662	$13,055	$75.32	43,726
Manager Of Corporate Communications	$84,161	$7,013	$40.46	34,908
Director Of Communications And Marketing	$87,324	$7,277	$41.98	109,600

Top companies hiring communications directors now:

Which companies pay communications directors the most?

Communications director salaries at McKinsey & Company Inc and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average communications director salary at companies like Baker Botts and Citi are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	McKinsey & Company Inc	$226,888	$109.08
2	Meta	$221,829	$106.65
3	Baker Botts	$207,713	$99.86
4	Citi	$198,806	$95.58
5	Bloomberg	$193,682	$93.12
6	Twitter	$193,097	$92.84
7	Biogen	$192,843	$92.71
8	BP America Inc	$189,369	$91.04
9	ViacomCBS	$186,748	$89.78
10	APCO Worldwide	$184,217	$88.57
11	Capgemini	$183,997	$88.46
12	PitchBook Data	$178,766	$85.95
13	Urban Institute	$178,623	$85.88
14	Pro Mujer	$177,399	$85.29
15	BuzzFeed	$175,761	$84.50
16	Regeneron	$174,829	$84.05
17	bluebird bio	$174,546	$83.92
18	FTI Consulting	$174,360	$83.83
19	Droga5	$174,116	$83.71
20	Coty	$173,900	$83.61

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$104,000$101,800$99,600$97,400$95,200$93,000

MaleFemale

Communications Director salary by industry

The average communications director salary varies across industries:

The average communications director salary in the health care industry is $109,135, the highest of any industry.
The average communications director salary in the finance industry is $107,197.
Communications directors in the government industry earn an average salary of $75,460, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for communications directors

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Health Care	$109,135	$52.47
2	Manufacturing	$107,197	$51.54
3	Non Profits	$88,380	$42.49
4	Education	$87,773	$42.20
5	Real Estate	$77,096	$37.07
6	Government	$75,460	$36.28

High paying communications director jobs

Communications director salary trends

The average communications director salary has risen by $25,298 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average communications director earned $82,402 annually, but today, they earn $107,700 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for communications directors over the last decade.

Compare communications director salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average communications director salary over time

Compare communications director salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Communications director salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2026	$108,000	$51.78	+3.9%
2025	$103,000	$49.75	+2.0%
2024	$101,000	$48.74	+3.1%
2023	$98,300	$47.25	+3.6%
2022	$94,800	$45.56	+3.0%

Recently added communications director salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
USAA	Director, Business Process Ownership-Communication Ecosystem-Claims Optimization	Campus, IL	06/30/2025	$127,310
Blackrock	Director, Internal Communications	Day, NY	06/30/2025	$194,000
Marriott International	Flex Director, Stakeholder Engagement and Communications	Bethesda, MD	06/29/2025	$126,013
Palo Alto Networks	Director Communications, Executive and Internal Communications, GTM	Santa Clara, CA	06/29/2025	$208,000
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.	Technology Business Communications Director	Cleveland, OH	06/29/2025	$100,000
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.	Technology Business Communications Director	Pittsburgh, PA	06/29/2025	$100,000
Title IX Coordinator & Non-Discrimination Officer In St. Paul, Minnesota	Director of Engagement Communication	Saint Paul, MN	06/29/2025	$67,320
Bristol Myers Squibb	Director, Executive Communications, Cell Therapy	Madison, WI	06/28/2025	$185,000
State of North Carolina	Director of Communications	Jackson, NC	06/28/2025	$68,000
University of Arizona	Director, Internal Communications	Tucson, AZ	06/28/2025	$86,870

Communications director salary FAQs

What state pays Communications Directors the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a communications director?

How long does it take to become a communications director?

How much money does a communications director make?

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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