Occupation salary profile

Public Relations Specialists

SOC 27-3031 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.

National median · BLS
$74,750
▲ +7.12% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$69,368
▼ -0.9% YoY · 475 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$84,120
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
283,380
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Public Relations Specialists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 475 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$44,110$49,977
25th$56,260$55,000
Median (50th)$74,750$69,368
75th$100,370$90,000
90th — top pay$135,150$126,260
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $69,368 for Public Relations Specialists — 7.2% below the BLS national median of $74,750.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Public Relations Specialists

BLS projects employment of public relations specialists to grow 1.8% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 23,000 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
314,500 → 320,200
+5,700 jobs
Projected change
+1.8%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
23,000
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.1% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $69,368
Change vs prior year -0.9%
After inflation (CPI-U) -3.91%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 214 45.1% $52,562 $55,000 $63,000
Level II 127 26.7% $63,261 $72,199 $80,000
Level III 58 12.2% $87,734 $96,034 $114,125
Level IV 67 14.1% $110,806 $130,000 $153,976
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Public Relations Specialists

The 2 most-filed job titles inside SOC 27-3031, from 475 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Public Relations Specialist 134 28.21% $54,995 $63,376 $85,000 -0.52%
Communications Specialist 15 3.16% $55,038 $65,000 $73,578 +10.74%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Public Relations Specialists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Speaking4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Social Perceptiveness4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Coordination3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Time Management3.9
  • Persuasion3.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.5
Top knowledge areas
  • Communications and Media4.9
  • English Language4.7
  • Administration and Management4.0
  • Customer and Personal Service4.0
  • Sales and Marketing3.9
  • Computers and Electronics3.5
  • Administrative3.0
  • Education and Training2.8
Software and technology used
Adobe Creative Cloud softwareAdobe InDesignAdobe PhotoshopCanvaMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft SharePointWordPressAdobe AcrobatAdobe After EffectsAdobe IllustratorApple macOSCascading style sheets CSSCisco WebexFacebookGoogle Analytics

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What public relations specialists do

  • Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
  • Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
  • Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets.
  • Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients.
  • Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
  • Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions.
  • Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.
  • Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.
Also called
Communications SpecialistPublic Affairs SpecialistPublic Information OfficerPublic Relations Specialist (PR Specialist)Community Relations CoordinatorCorporate Communications SpecialistInformation and Communications SpecialistMedia Relations SpecialistPublic Information SpecialistPublic Relations Coordinator (PR Coordinator)
More job titles for this occupation (47)
Audience CoordinatorBrand AdvocateCommunication SpecialistCommunications AssociateCommunications CoordinatorCommunity LiaisonConcert PromoterConsumer AdvocateContent Marketing SpecialistContent SpecialistContent StrategistCustomer SpecialistDigital Communications SpecialistEnvironmental Communications SpecialistEvent PromoterImage ConsultantInformation SpecialistInternal Communications SpecialistLobbyistMarketing Communications CoordinatorMarketing Communications SpecialistMarketing CoordinatorMedia BuyerMedia PlannerMedia SpecialistMotivational SpeakerMusic PublicistPolitical AdvisorPolitical AidePress AgentPress SecretaryPromotion SpecialistPublic Affairs OfficerPublic Relations Consultant (PR Consultant)Public Relations Counselor (PR Counselor)Public Relations Officer (PR Officer)Public Relations Representative (PR Rep)PublicistPublicity AgentPublicity ConsultantPublicity ExpertPublicity PersonPublicity WriterService Promoter SalespersonSpeech WriterStudent AmbassadorSustainability Communicator

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.