Public relations specialists held about 314,500 U.S. jobs in 2025 and earned a median $74,750 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS projects 2% employment growth from 2025 to 2035, slower than average, but about 23,000 openings a year, mostly from workers leaving the field. This page covers PR jobs by role, pay, outlook, and what employers now look for.
How much do PR jobs pay?
PR specialists earned a median $74,750 in May 2025, compared with $50,980 for all U.S. occupations, according to BLS. The lowest 10% earned less than $44,110 and the highest 10% earned more than $135,150. BLS's combined category of public relations and fundraising managers had a 2025 median of $136,470.
| Where PR specialists work | Share of jobs (2025) | Median pay (May 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Government | 11% | $81,350 |
| Advertising, public relations, and related services | 12% | $77,480 |
| Grantmaking, giving, and social advocacy organizations | 6% | $71,720 |
| Educational services | 14% | $66,220 |
| Healthcare and social assistance | 7% | $64,550 |
Pay by industry shows that agency work is not the highest-paying route. Government PR specialists had the highest median of the five largest employer groups, and educational services employed the largest share.
What is the hiring outlook for PR jobs?
BLS projects PR specialist employment to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, adding about 5,700 jobs to reach 320,200, which is slower than the 3% average for all occupations. Replacement demand still creates about 23,000 openings a year, because most openings come from workers who change occupations or leave the labor force.
BLS names two forces. Organizations will need specialists to respond to news developments and protect reputation, and social media is expected to create new opportunities. BLS also says artificial intelligence is increasingly making inroads into data-rich social media, which may soften demand for these workers.
What PR jobs exist?
PR jobs fall into agency, corporate, government, and specialized tracks, and the titles differ by track. Agency titles run from account coordinator to account director, corporate titles run from communications specialist to chief communications officer, and government uses titles such as press secretary and public information officer. The complete guide to PR job titles lists every rung and what each does.
BLS describes the core duties: writing press releases and preparing information for the media, responding to media requests, drafting speeches and arranging interviews for executives, and evaluating public opinion through social media.
What do PR employers want from candidates?
PR employers typically want a bachelor's degree and strong writing, speaking, organizational, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills. BLS says specialists typically hold a bachelor's degree in public relations or another communications field, social science, or business, and that internships and experience through a school newspaper, social media, or blogs can help. Professional certification is not typically required but is preferred by some employers.
How has PR hiring changed since 2011?
PR hiring has changed from social media growth to AI visibility work. The January 2011 version of this post cited a Council of Public Relations Firms survey pointing to stronger new-business pipelines, increased hiring, mid-level hiring as the chokepoint, and social media as the strongest expected growth area. Social media did become a major growth area for PR firms in the decade that followed.
What the 2011 forecast missed, in Ronn Torossian's view, is that part of the audience moved from social feeds to AI answer engines. Buyers can now ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity about a brand, so PR work now includes how a brand appears in those answers.
5W AI Communications says it is hiring against that profile. The roles it names are AI Communications Strategists, Citation Share Analysts, GEO Practice Leads, and Account Directors who can run earned, owned, paid, and AI search work in one budget. For the vocabulary, see the definitions of Generative Engine Optimization and Citation Share.
What should a PR hiring plan look for in 2026?
A 2026 PR hiring plan should test for retrieval literacy and measurement alongside the traditional skills BLS lists. The table is 5W's working framework, not a labor-market finding.
| Skill | What to test for |
|---|---|
| Retrieval literacy | Can the candidate read which sources an AI answer cites and explain why those sources appear? |
| Measurement | Can the candidate report Citation Share next to clip counts and share of voice? |
| Social media as an input | Does the candidate treat social posts as one source that feeds the answer a buyer receives, rather than the final destination? |
Frequently asked questions
How much do public relations specialists make?
The median annual wage for public relations specialists was $74,750 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest 10% earned less than $44,110, and the highest 10% earned more than $135,150.
What degree do you need for a PR job?
PR specialists typically need a bachelor's degree, usually in public relations or another communications field, social science, or business, according to BLS.
Is PR a growing field?
PR specialist employment is projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3% average for all occupations, though BLS projects about 23,000 openings a year because of replacement demand.
What do PR managers make?
BLS's category for public relations and fundraising managers had a 2025 median annual wage of $136,470. The guide to PR job titles shows which titles sit at the manager level.
Originally published January 20, 2011. Updated October 2026.
Ronn Torossian
Founder and Chairman, 5W AI Communications