Occupation salary profile

Editors

SOC 27-3041 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material. May review proposals and drafts for possible publication.

National median · BLS
$77,920
▲ +3.53% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$90,000
▼ -3.23% YoY · 101 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$90,060
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
91,690
Jobs (BLS)
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Check your salary

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 Editors

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 101 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$41,250$57,845
25th$57,300$64,500
Median (50th)$77,920$90,000
75th$106,100$134,992
90th — top pay$153,700$165,850
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $90,000 for Editors — 15.5% above the BLS national median of $77,920.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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

Job outlook for Editors

BLS projects employment of editors to decline 1.1% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 7,900 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
105,000 → 103,800
-1,100 jobs
Projected change
-1.1%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
7,900
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Plus less than 5 years experience
Self-employed
9% 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-declining 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 $90,000
Change vs prior year -3.23%
After inflation (CPI-U) -6.17%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 29 28.7% $59,000 $65,000 $73,095
Level II 25 24.8% $65,000 $84,843 $90,563
Level III 17 16.8% $101,400 $117,541 $124,900
Level IV 19 18.8% $136,583 $161,300 $213,036
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Editors

The 2 most-filed job titles inside SOC 27-3041, from 101 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
Editor 22 21.78% $59,530 $84,115 $90,563 +0.87%
Associate Editor 10 9.9% $47,320 $88,869 $100,450 -5.46%

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 Editors

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
  • Reading Comprehension5.0
  • Writing4.4
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Time Management3.4
  • Active Learning3.3
  • Complex Problem Solving3.3
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.3
  • Monitoring3.3
Top knowledge areas
  • English Language4.8
  • Communications and Media4.8
  • Customer and Personal Service3.9
  • Design3.8
  • Administration and Management3.6
  • Computers and Electronics3.3
  • Law and Government3.3
  • Personnel and Human Resources3.2
Software and technology used
Adobe PhotoshopHypertext markup language HTMLMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordContent management systems CMSAdobe AcrobatAdobe After EffectsAdobe Creative Cloud softwareAdobe IllustratorAdobe InDesignApple macOSCascading style sheets CSSExtensible markup language XMLFacebookGoogle 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 editors do

  • Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.
  • Write text, such as headlines, stories, articles, editorials, or newsletters.
  • Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax.
  • Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work.
  • Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal.
  • Allocate print space for story text, photos, and illustrations according to space parameters and copy significance, using knowledge of layout principles.
  • Confer with management and editorial staff members regarding placement and emphasis of developing news stories.
  • Oversee publication production, including artwork, layout, computer typesetting, and printing, ensuring adherence to deadlines and budget requirements.
Also called
Features EditorNewspaper Copy EditorOpinions Page EditorSports EditorAcquisitions EditorAssignment EditorBusiness EditorLegal EditorPublishing EditorScience Editor
More job titles for this occupation (42)
Acute EditorAdvertising EditorArt EditorBook EditorCommunications EditorContent EditorContinuity EditorContinuity ReaderDevelopment EditorDictionary EditorDigital EditorEditorial AssistantEditorial SpecialistFashion EditorFood EditorGreeting Card EditorIndex EditorMagazine EditorMake Up EditorManuscript EditorManuscript ReaderMarket EditorMedical EditorNewspaper EditorNewspaper Managing EditorNewspaper Photo EditorOnline Content EditorOpinion EditorPhoto EditorProduction EditorPublication EditorPublications EditorReviewerRewrite EditorScientific Publications EditorScript EditorSlot EditorSociety EditorStory EditorStory ReaderTechnical EditorTelegraph Editor

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.