How Much Do Editors Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary editors make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for editors and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of editors are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much editors can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Editors

According to data from 2023, there were about 97,129 positions for editors in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for editors was reported to be $75,026. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 22,422 job postings related to positions for editors.

How Much Money Do Editors Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money editors and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for editors.

Annual Salary for Editors

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for editors and related professions earned about $38,792 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $138,923 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for editors in the United States in 2023 was $75,026.

Hourly Salary for Editors

The BLS also breaks down compensation for editors by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for editors in 2023 was $36. Lowest hourly earners took home $19 while the highest reported hourly salaries for editors was $67.

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Advertised Compensation for Editors

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for editors, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for editors.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Editors

During a review of 25,465 job postings related to editors, advertised salary was included in 9,581 of them, which was 38%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for editors was $72,064 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Editors

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for editors. Based on 43% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for editors in the United States is about $35.

Salary Trend for Editors

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for editors. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for editors dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for editors have increased 41%.

What's the Job Growth for Editors?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for editors over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 96,933 jobs for editors in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 3,954 jobs will be added. That's a 4.1% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about editors? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for editors.

What do editors do?
Editors: How do you become one?

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