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Media specialist salary
Average media specialist salary
$50,832
Media Specialist Salary Overview
The average salary for a Media Specialist in the United States is $50,832 annually, which breaks down to about $24 per hour. Salaries can vary based on factors such as location, industry, and years of experience. For instance, media specialists in high-demand areas often earn more compared to those in smaller markets.
Salary by State
Understanding salary ranges by state is crucial for media specialists aiming to maximize their earnings. States such as California and New York offer some of the highest salaries, influenced by the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.
Career Opportunities
Opportunities in this field span various sectors, including education, corporate communications, and marketing. Media specialists with advanced skills in digital media or a background in graphic design may find higher-paying positions. Additionally, pursuing certifications can enhance career prospects and salary potential.
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Where can a Media Specialist earn more?
Media specialist salary estimates from across the web
Average media specialist salary by state
The highest-paying states for media specialists are New Jersey, New York, and Washington. The lowest average media specialist salary states are New Mexico, South Carolina, and Alabama.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for media specialists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $67,777 | $32.59 |
| 2 | New York | $61,161 | $29.40 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $56,002 | $26.92 |
| 4 | Virginia | $60,536 | $29.10 |
| 5 | Delaware | $55,200 | $26.54 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $62,498 | $30.05 |
| 7 | Maryland | $60,061 | $28.88 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $58,758 | $28.25 |
| 9 | Washington | $60,661 | $29.16 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $50,465 | $24.26 |
| 11 | Idaho | $51,313 | $24.67 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $55,492 | $26.68 |
| 13 | Tennessee | $53,949 | $25.94 |
| 14 | Oregon | $52,349 | $25.17 |
| 15 | Alaska | $50,050 | $24.06 |
| 16 | Nevada | $50,657 | $24.35 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $50,857 | $24.45 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | $51,589 | $24.80 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $50,294 | $24.18 |
| 20 | Illinois | $50,631 | $24.34 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $50,684 | $24.37 |
| 22 | Texas | $50,542 | $24.30 |
| 23 | California | $54,241 | $26.08 |
| 24 | Utah | $43,847 | $21.08 |
| 25 | Hawaii | $48,398 | $23.27 |
| 26 | South Dakota | $43,319 | $20.83 |
| 27 | Minnesota | $50,668 | $24.36 |
| 28 | North Carolina | $47,164 | $22.68 |
| 29 | Ohio | $49,314 | $23.71 |
| 30 | Nebraska | $42,772 | $20.56 |
| 31 | Vermont | $42,163 | $20.27 |
| 32 | Iowa | $42,171 | $20.27 |
| 33 | Kentucky | $48,354 | $23.25 |
| 34 | Wyoming | $40,216 | $19.33 |
| 35 | Colorado | $48,160 | $23.15 |
| 36 | Maine | $42,281 | $20.33 |
| 37 | Arizona | $42,171 | $20.27 |
| 38 | Indiana | $44,054 | $21.18 |
| 39 | Michigan | $41,461 | $19.93 |
| 40 | Montana | $39,474 | $18.98 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $39,876 | $19.17 |
| 42 | Georgia | $40,964 | $19.69 |
| 43 | Kansas | $39,324 | $18.91 |
| 44 | Florida | $39,070 | $18.78 |
| 45 | New Mexico | $38,660 | $18.59 |
| 46 | Missouri | $38,829 | $18.67 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $35,530 | $17.08 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $37,490 | $18.02 |
| 49 | Alabama | $36,828 | $17.71 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $35,808 | $17.22 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $35,887 | $17.25 |
Highest paying cities for media specialists
The highest-paying cities for media specialists are Washington, DC, Springfield, VA, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington, DC | $67,862 | $32.63 |
| 2 | Springfield, VA | $62,037 | $29.83 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $61,436 | $29.54 |
| 4 | Seattle, WA | $61,122 | $29.39 |
| 5 | Baltimore, MD | $60,216 | $28.95 |
| 6 | New Haven, CT | $58,892 | $28.31 |
| 7 | San Francisco, CA | $58,826 | $28.28 |
| 8 | Boston, MA | $55,416 | $26.64 |
| 9 | El Paso, TX | $52,069 | $25.03 |
| 10 | Waukegan, IL | $51,225 | $24.63 |
| 11 | Minneapolis, MN | $50,767 | $24.41 |
| 12 | Philadelphia, PA | $50,540 | $24.30 |
| 13 | Madison, WI | $50,238 | $24.15 |
| 14 | Las Vegas, NV | $49,805 | $23.94 |
| 15 | Columbus, OH | $49,063 | $23.59 |
| 16 | Denver, CO | $48,219 | $23.18 |
| 17 | Charlotte, NC | $45,981 | $22.11 |
| 18 | Indianapolis, IN | $43,787 | $21.05 |
| 19 | Lincoln, NE | $42,561 | $20.46 |
| 20 | Lansing, MI | $41,252 | $19.83 |
Media specialist salary details
A media specialist's salary ranges from $35,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $73,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a media specialist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $73,000 | $6,083 | $35 |
| 75th Percentile | $61,000 | $5,083 | $29 |
| Average | $50,832 | $4,236 | $24 |
| 25th Percentile | $41,000 | $3,417 | $20 |
| 10th Percentile | $35,000 | $2,917 | $17 |
Highest paying media specialist jobs
The highest paying types of media specialists are senior communications specialist, public affairs specialist, and content specialist.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Relations Coordinator | $46,225 | $3,852 | $22.22 | 35,324 |
| Digital Media Internship | $32,033 | $2,669 | $15.40 | 72,449 |
| Social Media Internship | $31,145 | $2,595 | $14.97 | 79,411 |
| Social Media Editor | $53,943 | $4,495 | $25.93 | 37,769 |
| Media Consultant | $53,443 | $4,454 | $25.69 | 28,768 |
| Media Coordinator | $47,471 | $3,956 | $22.82 | 35,285 |
Top companies hiring media specialists now:
Which companies pay media specialists the most?
Media specialist salaries at BP America Inc and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average media specialist salary at companies like Corsair and Amazon are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BP America Inc | $110,882 | $53.31 |
| 2 | Meta | $102,637 | $49.34 |
| 3 | Corsair | $90,927 | $43.71 |
| 4 | Amazon | $82,738 | $39.78 |
| 5 | QuinStreet | $78,575 | $37.78 |
| 6 | Cirrus Aircraft | $78,115 | $37.56 |
| 7 | Parsons | $77,962 | $37.48 |
| 8 | Intel | $71,656 | $34.45 |
| 9 | IDEO | $69,757 | $33.54 |
| 10 | Analog Devices | $69,261 | $33.30 |
| 11 | Fluor Corporation | $69,136 | $33.24 |
| 12 | Deloitte | $68,097 | $32.74 |
| 13 | Shutterstock | $68,069 | $32.73 |
| 14 | Ketchum | $67,503 | $32.45 |
| 15 | Merkle | $67,328 | $32.37 |
| 16 | USRA | $67,146 | $32.28 |
| 17 | Kansas City Kansas Community College | $65,731 | $31.60 |
| 18 | CDC Foundation | $65,199 | $31.35 |
| 19 | EMC | $64,094 | $30.81 |
| 20 | Teledyne Technologies Incorporated | $64,055 | $30.80 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Media Specialist salary by industry
The average media specialist salary varies across industries:
- The average media specialist salary in the professional industry is $57,470, the highest of any industry.
- The average media specialist salary in the finance industry is $55,456.
- Media specialists in the retail industry earn an average salary of $48,311, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for media specialists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professional | $57,470 | $27.63 |
| 2 | Media | $55,456 | $26.66 |
| 3 | Education | $49,814 | $23.95 |
| 4 | Retail | $48,311 | $23.23 |
High paying media specialist jobs
Media specialist salary trends
The average media specialist salary has risen by $7,786 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average media specialist earned $43,046 annually, but today, they earn $50,832 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for media specialists over the last decade.
Compare media specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average media specialist salary over time
Compare media specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Media specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $50,800 | $24.44 | +2.6% |
| 2024 | $49,500 | $23.79 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | $48,600 | $23.34 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $48,000 | $23.07 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | $47,000 | $22.57 | +2.2% |
Recently added media specialist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medtronic | Associate Creative Media Specialist-CST (On-Site) | Memphis, TN | 06/30/2025 | $52,000 |
| Sinclair Broadcast Group | Media Specialist/Tech Support Hybrid | Lafayette, LA | 06/29/2025 | $36,356 |
| Neptune Township School District | Educational Media Specialists (Anticipated Vacancy) | Neptune, NJ | 06/29/2025 | $62,289 |
| Rice University | Events and Media Specialist | Houston, TX | 06/29/2025 | $65,000 |
| Get It-Marketing | Growth Media Specialist-Remote | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $25,044 |
| Teksystems | Digital Media Specialist | Bristol, CT | 06/27/2025 | $52,175 |
| R2 Global | Programmatic/Retail Media Specialist | Asbury Park, NJ | 06/27/2025 | $95,000 |
| Pleasantville Public Schools | Librarian/Media Specialist | Downe, NJ | 06/27/2025 | $74,129 |
| Maryland Nonprofits | Marketing & Digital Media Specialist | Baltimore, MD | 06/26/2025 | $58,000 |
| Horizon Media | Specialist, Commerce Media | New York, NY | 06/25/2025 | $75,000 |
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