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Senior communications specialist salary

Quoted expert
Peter Bicak Ph.D.

Average senior communications specialist salary

$78,948

$37.96 hourly rate

Entry-level senior communications specialist salary
$56,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Senior Communications Specialist Salaries

A Senior Communications Specialist plays a critical role in managing and disseminating information within an organization. According to current data, the average salary for this position stands at $78,948 annually, translating to approximately $38 per hour. Compensation can vary significantly based on factors such as geographic location, industry, and years of experience.

Salary by State

States like California and New York offer some of the highest salaries for Senior Communications Specialists, often exceeding the national average. In contrast, positions in states with a lower cost of living may offer reduced salary ranges.

Highest Paying Industries

Industries such as technology, healthcare, and finance typically provide the most competitive salaries. As you explore opportunities, consider how industry specifics can influence your earning potential.

Career Advancement

For those looking to advance their careers, obtaining additional certifications or expanding your skill set in digital communications can lead to higher salary brackets. By staying informed about salary trends and industry demands, you can position yourself effectively in this dynamic job market.

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Where can a Senior Communications Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
131k
111k
91k
71k
51k
31k
Columbus, OH$104,663
Missoula, MT$61,375
Compare salary by company
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144k
124k
104k
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Analysis Group$129,014
Verizon Communications$94,423

Senior communications specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor and Payscale, the average salary for a senior communications specialist typically falls between $74,979 and $98,905.
zippia
$78,948yearly
glassdoor[1]
$98,905yearly
Salary.com[2]
$93,934yearly
payscale[3]
$74,979yearly

Average senior communications specialist salary by state

The highest-paying states for senior communications specialists are Connecticut, Virginia, and New Jersey. The lowest average senior communications specialist salary states are Texas, Alabama, and Montana.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for senior communications specialists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Virginia$96,723$46.50
2New York$93,824$45.11
3Washington$95,186$45.76
4District of Columbia$93,080$44.75
5Connecticut$96,938$46.60
6Rhode Island$87,053$41.85
7North Dakota$77,084$37.06
8California$94,623$45.49
9New Jersey$95,668$45.99
10Idaho$79,389$38.17
11Maryland$85,841$41.27
12Delaware$78,152$37.57
13New Hampshire$81,431$39.15
14Massachusetts$80,451$38.68
15Nevada$75,586$36.34
16Pennsylvania$77,628$37.32
17Alaska$76,884$36.96
18West Virginia$76,109$36.59
19Arkansas$75,560$36.33
20Oregon$76,438$36.75
21Georgia$76,617$36.84
22Vermont$71,545$34.40
23Utah$70,665$33.97
24Minnesota$76,497$36.78
25Wyoming$67,485$32.44
26New Mexico$73,290$35.24
27Kentucky$74,208$35.68
28Hawaii$70,719$34.00
29Nebraska$68,372$32.87
30Illinois$74,469$35.80
31South Dakota$65,764$31.62
32Tennessee$71,511$34.38
33North Carolina$69,105$33.22
34Iowa$66,265$31.86
35Indiana$69,268$33.30
36Ohio$69,301$33.32
37Colorado$69,996$33.65
38Missouri$69,153$33.25
39Maine$61,406$29.52
40Michigan$64,928$31.22
41Montana$60,013$28.85
42Louisiana$60,786$29.22
43South Carolina$66,405$31.93
44Arizona$61,694$29.66
45Wisconsin$64,149$30.84
46Texas$60,254$28.97
47Oklahoma$60,587$29.13
48Alabama$60,158$28.92
49Kansas$59,722$28.71
50Florida$52,388$25.19
51Mississippi$54,503$26.20
Top senior communications specialist jobs near you

Highest paying cities for senior communications specialists

The highest-paying cities for senior communications specialists are Oakland, CA, Arlington, VA, and Seattle, WA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Oakland, CA$104,663$50.32
2Arlington, VA$98,527$47.37
3Seattle, WA$96,034$46.17
4Rahway, NJ$95,741$46.03
5New York, NY$93,989$45.19
6Washington, DC$93,110$44.76
7Baltimore, MD$86,075$41.38
8Boston, MA$80,463$38.68
9Philadelphia, PA$78,046$37.52
10Fargo, ND$77,852$37.43
11Atlanta, GA$76,949$36.99
12Minneapolis, MN$76,564$36.81
13Chicago, IL$74,801$35.96
14Broomfield, CO$70,031$33.67
15Saint Louis, MO$69,926$33.62
16Charlotte, NC$67,433$32.42
17Des Moines, IA$65,828$31.65
18Madison, WI$63,870$30.71
19Phoenix, AZ$61,893$29.76
20Missoula, MT$61,375$29.51

Senior communications specialist salary details

A senior communications specialist's salary ranges from $56,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $111,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average senior communications specialist salary graph
Average senior communications specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a senior communications specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$111,000$9,250$53
75th Percentile$94,000$7,833$45
Average$78,948$6,579$38
25th Percentile$65,000$5,417$31
10th Percentile$56,000$4,667$27

Highest paying senior communications specialist jobs

The highest paying types of senior communications specialists are communications director, communications/senior communications manager, and communications lead.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Social Media Internship$31,145$2,595$14.9779,411
Public Relations Internship$30,868$2,572$14.8465,163
Public Relations$48,383$4,032$23.2622,721
Communications Internship$33,458$2,788$16.0962,641
Communications Project Manager$85,174$7,098$40.95146,055
Communications Manager$81,304$6,775$39.0926,350

How would you rate the starting salaries for senior communications 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 senior communications specialists now:

  1. AT&T jobs (54)
  2. Mayo Clinic jobs (8)
  3. Boeing jobs (23)
  4. Johnson & Johnson jobs (8)
  5. Entergy jobs (9)

Which companies pay senior communications specialists the most?

Senior communications specialist salaries at Analysis Group and Sarepta Therapeutics are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior communications specialist salary at companies like Grant Thornton and Deutsche Bank are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Analysis Group$129,014$62.03
2Sarepta Therapeutics$118,496$56.97
3Grant Thornton$117,176$56.33
4Deutsche Bank$115,303$55.43
5Booz Allen Hamilton$105,343$50.65
6Merck$105,040$50.50
7Ecolab$101,439$48.77
8Mayo Clinic$101,348$48.73
9Corning Incorporated$99,716$47.94
10Air Products$99,705$47.94
11Florida Power and Light $99,653$47.91
12Pacifi$99,162$47.67
13Northrop Grumman$97,616$46.93
14Sabre$97,078$46.67
15Halliburton$97,077$46.67
16Crown Castle International$97,066$46.67
17Edison International$94,918$45.63
18Exelon$94,558$45.46
19Boeing$94,423$45.40
20Verizon Communications$94,423$45.40

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$79,000$78,200$77,400$76,600$75,800$75,000
MaleFemale

Senior Communications Specialist salary by industry

The average senior communications specialist salary varies across industries:

  • The average senior communications specialist salary in the technology industry is $85,027, the highest of any industry.
  • The average senior communications specialist salary in the finance industry is $82,953.
  • Senior communications specialists in the retail industry earn an average salary of $61,652, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for senior communications specialists

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Technology$85,027$40.88
2Finance$82,953$39.88
3Manufacturing$81,134$39.01
4Insurance$72,347$34.78
5Health Care$70,091$33.70
6Government$69,262$33.30
7Automotive$62,397$30.00
8Retail$61,652$29.64

High paying senior communications specialist jobs

Senior communications specialist salary trends

The average senior communications specialist salary has risen by $12,092 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior communications specialist earned $66,856 annually, but today, they earn $78,948 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for senior communications specialists over the last decade.

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

Average senior communications specialist salary over time

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

Senior communications specialist salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$78,900$37.96+2.6%
2024$76,900$36.95+1.9%
2023$75,400$36.26+1.2%
2022$74,500$35.83+2.2%
2021$72,900$35.06+2.2%

Recently added senior communications specialist salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
The University of ChicagoSenior Communications SpecialistChicago, IL06/30/2025$80,000
Exact SciencesSR Medical Communications SpecialistMadison, WI06/28/2025$129,000
The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach CountySenior Communications SpecialistWest Palm Beach, FL06/28/2025$70,000
BerncoCommunications Specialist SeniorAlbuquerque, NM06/28/2025$59,842
BoeingSenior Communications SpecialistSeattle, WA06/27/2025$133,450
The Capital Group Companies Inc.Senior Communications Engagement SpecialistIndianapolis, IN06/26/2025$136,858
The Capital Group Companies Inc.Senior Communications Engagement SpecialistLos Angeles, CA06/26/2025$136,858
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.Communications Specialist, SeniorChantilly, VA06/25/2025$77,600
Bernalillo County, NmCommunications Specialist SeniorAlbuquerque, NM06/25/2025$59,842
ExpediaSenior Communications SpecialistSpringfield, MO06/24/2025$61,500

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