How much does a reporter make?

The average reporter salary in the United States is $46,667. Reporter salaries typically range between $29,000 and $73,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for reporters is $22.44 per hour. Reporter salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Reporters earn the highest average salary in New Jersey.

Reporter salary

Q: What state pays Reporters the most?

New Jersey pays Reporters the most in the United States, with an average salary of $60,067 per year, or $28.88 per hour.

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

You know if you are being paid fairly as a reporter if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in New Jersey you should be paid close to $57,516 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for a Reporter?

A good starting salary for a reporter is $31,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a reporter in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for reporters is $50,000, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a reporter can vary by state.

Q: Do journalists get paid well?

No, journalists do not get paid well. While some journalists get paid well, the average salary for a journalist is $52,000 a year mid-career journalist. Someone just starting typically earns closer to $32,000 a year. Even less if you're beginning as a freelance journalist. However, the top 10% of journalists make around $86,000 a year. Factors such as years of experience, the company you work for, and location impact how much a journalist gets paid.

Q: How much do journalists make on average?

Journalists make $52,000 a year on average. There is, however, considerable range in how much a journalist can make - starting from as little as $32,000 a year to as much as $90,000 a year. Factors such as location and the type of journalist all impact how much a journalist can make.

Q: How much do reporters get paid?

Reporters get paid, on average, $49,887 a year. However, there is a considerable ranger, and how much a reporter can make starting from as little as 26,000 a year to as much as $160,000 a year. Factors such as company and location impact how much a reporter gets paid.

Quoted expert

Paul Mitchell Ph.D.

Average reporter salary

$46,667

$22.44 hourly rate

Entry-level reporter salary

$29,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Average Reporter Salary

The current average salary for reporters in the United States is approximately $46,667 per year. Factors influencing this figure include geographic location, level of experience, and the type of media outlet. For example, reporters working in metropolitan areas often earn higher salaries compared to those in rural regions.

Salary by State

Some of the highest-paying states for reporters include:

California: Known for its vibrant media landscape and competitive pay.
New York: Home to major news organizations, offering significant opportunities.
Washington D.C.: A hub for political reporting, with salaries reflecting the demand.

Career Opportunities

Aside from traditional reporting roles, there are various avenues within journalism, including investigative journalism, digital content creation, and multimedia reporting. Each path offers unique salary prospects and growth potential.

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Reporter salary by:

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Where can a Reporter earn more?

Compare salary by location

90k

70k

50k

30k

10k

Columbus, OH$60,032

Austin, TX$39,551

Compare salary by company

115k

95k

75k

55k

Citi$103,092

Chicago Sun-Times$84,561

Reporter salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and Payscale, the average salary for a reporter typically falls between $46,667 and $69,908.

zippia

$46,667yearly

indeed[1]

$59,924yearly

Salary.com[2]

$56,894yearly

ZipRecruiter[3]

$57,225yearly

payscale[4]

$50,708yearly

SalaryExpert[5]

$69,908yearly

Average reporter salary by state

The highest-paying states for reporters are New Jersey, Kentucky, and New York. The lowest average reporter salary states are Colorado, Hawaii, and South Dakota.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for reporters

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	District of Columbia	$60,067	$28.88
2	New York	$53,339	$25.64
3	Maryland	$53,195	$25.57
4	New Jersey	$57,516	$27.65
5	Vermont	$49,271	$23.69
6	Michigan	$51,105	$24.57
7	North Carolina	$46,270	$22.25
8	Virginia	$47,513	$22.84
9	Kentucky	$53,723	$25.83
10	Ohio	$50,078	$24.08
11	Delaware	$50,076	$24.07
12	Maine	$48,717	$23.42
13	Tennessee	$46,912	$22.55
14	New Mexico	$45,788	$22.01
15	Rhode Island	$46,211	$22.22
16	West Virginia	$44,053	$21.18
17	Illinois	$45,283	$21.77
18	Connecticut	$45,975	$22.10
19	Pennsylvania	$44,844	$21.56
20	Arkansas	$44,457	$21.37
21	California	$45,506	$21.88
22	Florida	$44,792	$21.53
23	Nevada	$44,661	$21.47
24	Iowa	$43,219	$20.78
25	Massachusetts	$43,234	$20.79
26	Arizona	$43,688	$21.00
27	Louisiana	$44,311	$21.30
28	Oklahoma	$43,348	$20.84
29	Nebraska	$40,039	$19.25
30	New Hampshire	$43,369	$20.85
31	Wyoming	$38,452	$18.49
32	Missouri	$40,661	$19.55
33	Minnesota	$42,383	$20.38
34	Washington	$41,531	$19.97
35	Wisconsin	$40,746	$19.59
36	Oregon	$39,448	$18.97
37	Alabama	$41,398	$19.90
38	Indiana	$41,525	$19.96
39	Kansas	$40,520	$19.48
40	Georgia	$40,901	$19.66
41	Texas	$39,027	$18.76
42	Utah	$38,125	$18.33
43	North Dakota	$37,232	$17.90
44	Hawaii	$36,873	$17.73
45	Colorado	$36,882	$17.73
46	Alaska	$30,175	$14.51
47	Mississippi	$39,460	$18.97
48	Idaho	$34,798	$16.73
49	South Carolina	$38,531	$18.52
50	Montana	$33,489	$16.10
51	South Dakota	$36,746	$17.67

Top reporter jobs near you

Highest paying cities for reporters

The highest-paying cities for reporters are Washington, DC, Edison, NJ, and New York, NY.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Washington, DC	$60,032	$28.86
2	Edison, NJ	$57,629	$27.71
3	New York, NY	$53,698	$25.82
4	Rockville, MD	$53,216	$25.58
5	Newark, DE	$49,929	$24.00
6	San Francisco, CA	$48,251	$23.20
7	Arlington, VA	$47,798	$22.98
8	Durham, NC	$47,304	$22.74
9	Norwalk, CT	$46,695	$22.45
10	Chicago, IL	$45,499	$21.87
11	Miami, FL	$45,226	$21.74
12	Philadelphia, PA	$45,064	$21.67
13	Phoenix, AZ	$43,702	$21.01
14	Boston, MA	$43,028	$20.69
15	Federal Way, WA	$41,841	$20.12
16	Indianapolis, IN	$41,503	$19.95
17	Duluth, GA	$41,154	$19.79
18	Milwaukee, WI	$41,075	$19.75
19	Kansas City, MO	$40,124	$19.29
20	Austin, TX	$39,551	$19.01

Reporters are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Reporter salary details

A reporter's salary ranges from $29,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $73,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average reporter salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a reporter's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$73,000	$6,083	$35
75th Percentile	$59,000	$4,917	$28
Average	$46,667	$3,889	$22
25th Percentile	$36,000	$3,000	$17
10th Percentile	$29,000	$2,417	$14

Highest paying reporter jobs

The highest paying types of reporters are sports reporter, managing editor, and proposal writer.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Production Editor	$53,275	$4,440	$25.61	62,877
Managing Editor	$89,060	$7,422	$42.82	16,781
Technical Editor	$61,717	$5,143	$29.67	78,423
Content Editor	$61,694	$5,141	$29.66	18,586
Editor	$52,107	$4,342	$25.05	15,115
Technical Writer And Editor	$65,088	$5,424	$31.29	78,617

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

Paul Mitchell Ph.D.

Coordinator of Recruitment and Retention, University of Nevada - Reno

The misconception is that there is no money in the communications fields. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our journalism majors are employed (in the last several years) at a higher rate than most of the other majors. My guess is starting salaries will continue to be on the rise.

Top companies hiring reporters now:

Which companies pay reporters the most?

Reporter salaries at Citi and Credit Suisse are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average reporter salary at companies like The New York Times Company and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Citi	$103,092	$49.56
2	Credit Suisse	$103,022	$49.53
3	The New York Times Company	$99,883	$48.02
4	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$99,769	$47.97
5	Bloomberg	$99,681	$47.92
6	Law360	$94,410	$45.39
7	The Washington Post	$93,214	$44.81
8	Vox Media	$92,197	$44.33
9	Millbrook School	$88,160	$42.38
10	Altice USA	$87,926	$42.27
11	MUFG EMEA	$87,376	$42.01
12	The Free Press	$87,082	$41.87
13	CVS Health	$87,074	$41.86
14	Udemy	$86,853	$41.76
15	MarketWatch	$86,816	$41.74
16	Business Insider	$85,734	$41.22
17	Fox News	$85,713	$41.21
18	Thomson Reuters	$85,471	$41.09
19	The Boston Globe	$85,170	$40.95
20	Chicago Sun-Times	$84,561	$40.65

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$44,000$43,600$43,200$42,800$42,400$42,000

MaleFemale

Reporter salary trends

The average reporter salary has risen by $9,659 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average reporter earned $37,008 annually, but today, they earn $46,667 a year. That works out to a 16% change in pay for reporters over the last decade.

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

Average reporter salary over time

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

Reporter salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$46,700	$22.44	+3.4%
2024	$45,100	$21.67	+2.9%
2023	$43,800	$21.05	+4.6%
2022	$41,800	$20.09	+3.9%
2021	$40,100	$19.30	+3.9%

Recently added reporter salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Crain Communications	Insurance Reporter	Chicago, IL	06/29/2025	$75,000
New York Public Radio	General Assignment Reporter, Day-of News	New York, NY	06/29/2025	$90,423
California Newspaper Partnership	Reporter	Riverside, CA	06/28/2025	$50,171
Media News Group	Reporter	Riverside, CA	06/26/2025	$50,171
Prairie Mountain Publishing, LLP	Reporter	Longmont, CO	06/26/2025	$31,305
Audacy	WWJ Morning Reporter	Southfield, MI	06/26/2025	$55,000
The Seattle Times	Engagement Reporter, Education Lab	Seattle, WA	06/26/2025	$62,425
Balance of Nature	Reports File Unit	Saint George, UT	06/26/2025	$31,305
Live Nation Worldwide	Incident Reporter-Shoreline Amphitheatre (Seasonal 2025)	Mountain View, CA	06/25/2025	$43,827
The McClatchy Company	Education Reporter	Modesto, CA	06/25/2025	$53,511

Reporter salary FAQs

What state pays Reporters the most?

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

What is a good starting salary for a Reporter?

Do journalists get paid well?

How much do journalists make on average?

How much do reporters get paid?

Have more questions? See all answers to common arts, entertainment, sports, and media questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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