2012 PR Agency Salary Survery – LA, NY, SF, Chicago and London

At PR Talent, we’ve never done a salary survey before…. and I’m not about to start now!   Market research has never been my strength and the thought of hiring some independent researcher to pull together an exhaustive survey that delivers only quasi-useful information is not my idea of fun.  On the other hand, after 14 years of PR recruiting and with top notch recruiters on the ground in major markets, we do have a pretty keen sense of what PR jobs pay…  after all that’s pretty much part of our daily conversation with clients and candidates.

So… what we’re providing below is insight into salary ranges for positions at top 20 agencies in the five major markets where we have dedicated recruiters… NY, Chicago, LA, SF, and London. (For now we are not listing corporate salaries since these vary widely by title… maybe next year.)  Although limited in scope we believe this provides a solid snapshot of what the major firms are paying without skewing that information by including lots of smaller firms — and smaller markets.

Here’s our first “subjective” salary survey for your consumption:

 New York
AAE $38 – $44K
AE $45-$58K
SAE $52 – $68K
AS $63 – $85K
SAS $80 – $110K
VP $110 – $165K
SVP $170 – $240K
EVP $225-275K
Practice Lead $250 – $300k
GM  $300K +
 
Chicago
AAE $33k – $36k
AE $38k – $43k
SAE $46k – $53k
AS $62k – $70k
SAS $76k – $84k
VP $113k – $125k
SVP $162k – $184k
EVP $192-213K
Practice Lead $200-275K
GM $275K +
 
Los Angeles
AAE $32-36K
AE $38-50K
SAE $50-60K
AS   $60-75K
SAS $75-95K
VP  $95-120K
SVP $120-170K
EVP $170-200K
Practice Lead $200-250K
GM $225K+
 
San Francisco
AAE $35-45K
AE $45-55K
SAE $55-70K
AS   $70-85K
SAS $85-110K
VP  $110-150K
SVP $150-200K
EVP $200-250K
GM $250-350K +
 
London
Account Executive  £18-22K
Senior Account Executive  £22-30K
Account Manager- £28-38K
Senior Account Manager- £32-42K
Account Director- £45-40K
Senior Account Director- £45-50K
Associate Director-£55-70K
Director- £70-90K +