Editor salary

Average editor salary

$52,107

$25.05 hourly rate

Entry-level editor salary
$34,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does an editor make?

The average editor salary in the United States is $52,107. Editor salaries typically range between $34,000 and $78,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for editors is $25.05 per hour.

Editor salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Editors earn the highest average salary in New York.

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Where can an Editor earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Vs
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86k
66k
46k
26k
6k
Columbus, OH$69,031
Salt Lake City, UT$36,342
Compare salary by company
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127k
107k
87k
67k
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Microsoft$109,349
Lincoln Memorial University$77,091

Editor salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, Comparably, Payscale and CareerExplorer, the average salary for an editor typically falls between $52,107 and $69,135.
zippia
$52,107yearly
glassdoor[1]
$69,135yearly
indeed[2]
$67,530yearly
comparably[3]
$65,412yearly
payscale[4]
$59,677yearly
CareerExplorer[5]
$63,350yearly

Average editor salary by state

Highest paying states for editors

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1New York$67,529$32.47
2District of Columbia$69,020$33.18
3Connecticut$66,637$32.04
4Virginia$60,905$29.28
5Massachusetts$62,495$30.05
6Washington$60,799$29.23
7North Dakota$57,640$27.71
8New Jersey$64,552$31.03
9New Hampshire$64,752$31.13
10Vermont$54,481$26.19
11Rhode Island$51,451$24.74
12Maryland$53,520$25.73
13West Virginia$53,133$25.54
14Delaware$51,111$24.57
15California$52,056$25.03
16Wyoming$46,364$22.29
17Idaho$49,020$23.57
18Maine$53,728$25.83
19Michigan$50,171$24.12
20Oregon$48,586$23.36
21Georgia$52,117$25.06
22Pennsylvania$49,825$23.95
23Illinois$49,167$23.64
24Colorado$50,222$24.15
25New Mexico$46,971$22.58
26Minnesota$48,735$23.43
27Kentucky$48,889$23.50
28North Carolina$45,494$21.87
29Nevada$46,183$22.20
30Arkansas$44,343$21.32
31Oklahoma$45,479$21.86
32Wisconsin$44,178$21.24
33Hawaii$42,754$20.55
34Alaska$38,422$18.47
35Ohio$43,597$20.96
36Arizona$44,585$21.44
37Tennessee$41,469$19.94
38South Carolina$43,479$20.90
39Utah$36,374$17.49
40Texas$40,119$19.29
41Montana$36,740$17.66
42Alabama$42,112$20.25
43Florida$38,234$18.38
44South Dakota$36,729$17.66
45Nebraska$31,453$15.12
46Indiana$39,391$18.94
47Missouri$33,573$16.14
48Iowa$35,569$17.10
49Kansas$34,682$16.67
50Louisiana$34,804$16.73
51Mississippi$30,100$14.47

Highest paying cities for editors

The highest-paying cities for editors are Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Worcester, MA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Washington, DC$69,031$33.19
2New York, NY$67,606$32.50
3Worcester, MA$62,629$30.11
4McLean, VA$62,453$30.03
5Seattle, WA$61,394$29.52
6San Francisco, CA$56,934$27.37
7Baltimore, MD$53,688$25.81
8Duluth, GA$52,261$25.13
9Boulder, CO$50,377$24.22
10Philadelphia, PA$49,960$24.02
11Chicago, IL$49,549$23.82
12Minneapolis, MN$48,757$23.44
13Urban Honolulu, HI$42,753$20.55
14Austin, TX$40,275$19.36
15Miami, FL$38,343$18.43
16Salt Lake City, UT$36,342$17.47

Editors are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Washington, DC
  2. New York, NY
  3. McLean, VA
  4. Seattle, WA
  5. San Francisco, CA

Editor salary details

An editor's salary ranges from $34,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $78,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Editor Salary Graph
Average Editor Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is an editor's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$78,000$6,500$38
75th Percentile$64,000$5,333$31
Average$52,107$4,342$25
25th Percentile$42,000$3,500$20
10th Percentile$34,000$2,833$16

Highest paying editor jobs

The highest paying types of editors are senior editor, managing editor, and writer.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Freelance Videographer/Editor$48,481$4,040$23.315,409
Technical Writer And Editor$65,088$5,424$31.2978,617
Freelance Video Editor$54,795$4,566$26.345,910
Photographer, Editor$51,131$4,261$24.5811,039
Social Media Editor$53,943$4,495$25.9337,769
Writer$66,143$5,512$31.8013,931

Which companies pay editors the most?

Editor salaries at Microsoft and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average editor salary at companies like Google and Moody's are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Microsoft$109,349$52.57
2Apple$108,035$51.94
3Google$104,645$50.31
4Moody's$99,748$47.96
5Goldman Sachs$99,191$47.69
6Partners Group LTD$94,727$45.54
7Amazon$90,802$43.65
8Bloomberg$89,301$42.93
9Altice USA$89,210$42.89
10The New York Times Company$87,740$42.18
11Yahoo$84,806$40.77
12Square$84,074$40.42
13Law360$82,751$39.78
14The Washington Post$81,523$39.19
15Tripadvisor$80,591$38.75
16The Economist Newspaper Group$80,350$38.63
17John Wiley & Sons$78,996$37.98
18Thomson Reuters$78,579$37.78
19MDRC$78,299$37.64
20Lincoln Memorial University$77,091$37.06

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$52,000$51,800$51,600$51,400$51,200$51,000
MaleFemale

Editor salary by industry

The average editor salary varies across industries:

  • The average editor salary in the technology industry is $62,170, the highest of any industry.
  • The average editor salary in the finance industry is $59,193.
  • Editors in the transportation industry earn an average salary of $45,514, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for editors

Rank
ascdesc
Industry
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Technology$62,170$29.89
2Non Profits$59,193$28.46
3Media$53,538$25.74
4Professional$52,342$25.16
5Education$51,197$24.61
6Transportation$45,514$21.88

High Paying Editor Jobs

Editor salary trends

The average editor salary has risen by $9,057 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average editor earned $43,050 annually, but today, they earn $52,107 a year. That works out to a 11% change in pay for editors over the last decade.

Compare editor salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average editor salary over time

Compare editor salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Editor salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$52,100$25.05+3.2%
2024$50,400$24.25+3.1%
2023$48,900$23.50+1.2%
2022$48,300$23.22+2.7%
2021$47,000$22.61+2.1%

Recently added editor salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Montana State UniversityEditor IIBozeman, MT12/18/2024$48,001
Stimson CenterEditorWashington, DC12/17/2024$70,000
American ExpressEditor, OnbrandAtlanta, GA12/16/2024$55,000
ESPNGeneral Editor-StreamingLos Angeles, CA12/16/2024$70,930
Journal-CourierEditor, Reviews, Enthusiast GroupEaston, PA12/16/2024$62,310
CryptoEditor's PickIone, WA12/16/2024$35,062
Android News-JSfgate Homepage EditorSan Francisco, CA12/16/2024$35,000
AlmEditorNew York, NY12/15/2024$55,000
Red VenturesGuidebook Development Editor | Lonely PlanetNew York, NY12/15/2024$96,000
WPP PLCEditorKansas City, MO12/15/2024$45,000

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