Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|---|
90th Percentile | $103,000 | $8,583 | $50 |
75th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
Average | $73,703 | $6,142 | $35 |
25th Percentile | $61,000 | $5,083 | $29 |
10th Percentile | $52,000 | $4,333 | $25 |
The darker areas on the map show where technical writers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | $58,899 | $28.32 | 346 |
Alaska | $75,847 | $36.46 | 118 |
Arizona | $70,299 | $33.80 | 879 |
Arkansas | $56,158 | $27.00 | 313 |
California | $82,747 | $39.78 | 1,151 |
Colorado | $67,202 | $32.31 | 840 |
Connecticut | $74,613 | $35.87 | 432 |
Delaware | $78,058 | $37.53 | 159 |
District of Columbia | $85,760 | $41.23 | 216 |
Florida | $53,676 | $25.81 | 1,777 |
Georgia | $68,954 | $33.15 | 1,243 |
Hawaii | $66,123 | $31.79 | 26 |
Idaho | $51,021 | $24.53 | 47 |
Illinois | $63,354 | $30.46 | 1,749 |
Indiana | $49,549 | $23.82 | 711 |
Iowa | $50,632 | $24.34 | 321 |
Kansas | $61,433 | $29.54 | 348 |
Kentucky | $56,906 | $27.36 | 330 |
Louisiana | $61,762 | $29.69 | 249 |
Maine | $83,483 | $40.14 | 132 |
Maryland | $78,130 | $37.56 | 359 |
Massachusetts | $90,033 | $43.29 | 382 |
Michigan | $65,351 | $31.42 | 880 |
Minnesota | $59,145 | $28.44 | 921 |
Mississippi | $55,156 | $26.52 | 172 |
Missouri | $60,114 | $28.90 | 654 |
Montana | $56,247 | $27.04 | 35 |
Nebraska | $51,690 | $24.85 | 299 |
Nevada | $71,546 | $34.40 | 312 |
New Hampshire | $79,310 | $38.13 | 42 |
New Jersey | $75,280 | $36.19 | 280 |
New Mexico | $59,335 | $28.53 | 243 |
New York | $69,998 | $33.65 | 2,389 |
North Carolina | $70,534 | $33.91 | 1,349 |
North Dakota | $64,490 | $31.00 | 128 |
Ohio | $63,502 | $30.53 | 1,104 |
Oklahoma | $59,578 | $28.64 | 266 |
Oregon | $71,002 | $34.14 | 214 |
Pennsylvania | $71,624 | $34.43 | 1,445 |
Rhode Island | $75,190 | $36.15 | 39 |
South Carolina | $56,965 | $27.39 | 416 |
South Dakota | $57,681 | $27.73 | 118 |
Tennessee | $61,050 | $29.35 | 569 |
Texas | $64,473 | $31.00 | 2,791 |
Utah | $57,159 | $27.48 | 115 |
Vermont | $82,363 | $39.60 | 32 |
Virginia | $74,609 | $35.87 | 471 |
Washington | $81,818 | $39.34 | 260 |
West Virginia | $71,436 | $34.34 | 124 |
Wisconsin | $58,920 | $28.33 | 660 |
Wyoming | $69,987 | $33.65 | 35 |
Tell us about yourself to get a free, personalized Zippia Salary Report and suggestions on how to increase your pay.
City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Boston, MA | $90,279 | $43.40 |
San Francisco, CA | $87,500 | $42.07 |
Washington, DC | $85,784 | $41.24 |
Seattle, WA | $83,995 | $40.38 |
Portland, ME | $83,843 | $40.31 |
Annapolis, MD | $78,343 | $37.66 |
Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | $73,700 | $35.43 | +2.4% |
2021 | $71,900 | $34.58 | +1.4% |
2020 | $70,900 | $34.11 | +1.3% |
2019 | $70,000 | $33.67 | +1.5% |
2018 | $69,000 | $33.16 | -0.6% |
Rank | Industry | Average Technical Writer Salary | Technical Writer Salary Range |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Technology | $74,606 | $49k $89k |
2 | Finance | $74,439 | $49k $89k |
3 | Manufacturing | $70,659 | $49k $89k |
4 | Professional | $69,656 | $49k $89k |
5 | Health Care | $68,049 | $49k $89k |
6 | Government | $59,737 | $49k $89k |
Avg. salary: $60,692
Avg. salary: $52,534
Avg. salary: $48,655
Avg. salary: $49,483
Avg. salary: $55,773
Avg. salary: $83,430
Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
Publisher | $60,693 | $5,058 | $29.18 | 18,619 |
Editor | $52,535 | $4,378 | $25.26 | 23,858 |
Production Editor | $48,655 | $4,055 | $23.39 | 70,302 |
News Editor | $49,484 | $4,124 | $23.79 | 20,927 |
Journalist | $55,774 | $4,648 | $26.81 | 19,104 |
Managing Editor | $83,431 | $6,953 | $40.11 | 25,494 |
Find High Paying Jobs Near You
And if you're looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Rank | Company | Zippia Score | Average Technical Writer Salary | Average Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | $114,915 | |||
2 | $114,207 | |||
3 | $111,994 | |||
4 | $106,937 | |||
5 | $105,824 | |||
6 | $103,963 |
And if you're looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Tell us about yourself to get a free, personalized Zippia Salary Report and suggestions on how to increase your pay.
Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
Perspecta | Technical Writer II | Annapolis, MD | 01/30/2022 | $61,818 |
Jumpcloud | Technical Writer | Boston, MA | 01/29/2022 | $65,000 |
Actalent | Technical Writer-Supply Chain | San Dimas, CA | 01/29/2022 | $62,610 |
SAIC | Technical Writer | San Diego, CA | 01/29/2022 | $50,001 |
The Kraft Heinz Company | Technical Writer-Temp To | Holland, MI | 01/28/2022 | $39,653 |
Randstad Us | Technical Writer | Corning, NY | 01/28/2022 | $42,930 |
Randstad Us | Technical Writer | Durham, NC | 01/28/2022 | $34,269 |
Selectek | Refrigeration Technical Writer | Peachtree City, GA | 01/28/2022 | $54,262 |
Kelly Services | Technical Writer | Pittsfield, NH | 01/28/2022 | $50,088 |
Randstad Us | Technical Writer III | Cambridge, MA | 01/28/2022 | $93,915 |
Gender | Income |
---|---|
Male | $71,867 |
Female | $71,312 |
Ethnicity | Salary |
---|---|
White | $72,711 |
Black or African American | $68,400 |
Asian | $72,946 |
Hispanic or Latino | $72,083 |
Education | Salary |
---|---|
Master's Degree | $79,005 |
Bachelor's Degree | $71,312 |
A good starting salary for a technical writer is $52,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a technical writer in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for technical writers is $73,703, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a technical writer can vary by state.
Yes, technical writers get paid well. A technical writer may earn a salary with a range as broad as $40,000 per year to over $100,000 per year. A technical writer's salary is determined by several different factors.
Because technical writers may need specific technical knowledge in a certain area, a technical writer's salary may be determined, in part, by the expertise they possess.
Technical writers with years of education or training in a highly specialized area of technical writing may be likely to earn a higher salary.
Additionally, general experience, education, and certifications may factor into the salary of a technical writer. Often, technical writers with years of experience writing or even leading teams on writing projects may earn an annual salary closer to the $100,000 end of the salary range.
Most technical writers will be expected to possess a bachelor's degree, but further education may make candidates more competitive and qualify them for higher salaries.
Technical writers earn between $40,000 per year and $100,00 per year. This range is very broad, though, and represents technical writers across various industries, experience levels, and specializations.
The low end of this salary range comprises entry-level work in fields that require little technical expertise from their candidates.
The higher end of this range of salaries includes highly experienced technical writers, technical writers in fields that require a foundation of specialized knowledge, and technical writers who take on project management-type roles.
For most technical writers, a higher salary comes with experience, which may be demonstrated by completed projects.
The starting salary for a technical writer is between $40,000 and $70,000 per year. This range depends heavily upon the field of technical writing in question.
Because technical writers may need specific technical knowledge in a certain area, a technical writer's salary may be determined, in part, by the expertise they possess. Technical writers with a solid education in a highly specialized area of technical writing, like scientific or medical writing, may be likely to earn a higher salary.
A lower starting salary may be inevitable for technical writers who begin their careers with a more general focus on writing skills. Fortunately, a few years of experience and a portfolio of completed writing projects will improve the prospects of most technical writers by a large margin.
Technical writers with some knowledge of design, programming, or web development also tend to be a bit more competitive.