PR Talent Releases 2017 Salary Survey | Adds Washington DC Office

DC Launch.  Strong demand for communications talent continues unabated in 2017.  In turn, salaries are higher and recruiters are busy.  This month we’ve announced the opening of a new office in Washington, D.C., the 7th location for our firm.  The office is headed up by Jaya Koilpollai Bohlmann, a 20-year PR veteran with extensive contacts in the DC Metro and former roles as Managing Director of Burson-Marsteller and VP of CorpCom for Sodexo.

National Reach. PR Talent’s 2017 Salary Report includes DC and our other major markets: New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.  Overall we continue to see upward pressure on salaries as the growth in digital, the integration of communications disciplines, and healthier marketing budgets are all big factors fueling the demand.  We’ve seen salaries bump up across all markets with slightly higher increases in Seattle due to heightened talent demand from companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Microsoft.

Local Insights. Below are the ranges our on-the-ground recruiters are seeing in these major markets, handling searches for both agency and in-house opportunities.  These results are from our hands-on experience working primarily with mid-size and large PR agencies.  We believe most salary surveys are too broad in scope — including agencies of all sizes and in all markets — and distort the results for PR salaries where most of the roles reside — in major markets.  And soon to be released… our Corporate Salary Survey, featuring salary ranges for in-house positions!

New York

  • AAE $38 – 45K
  • AE | $45 – 55K
  • Sr. AE | $58 – 75K
  • AS | $75 – 90K
  • Sr. AS/Director | $90 – 120K
  • VP | $120 – 150K
  • SVP | $150 – 240K
  • EVP | $225 – 290K
  • Practice Leader: $225-290K
  • GM | $350K ++

Washington DC

  • AAE $40 – 45K
  • AE | $45 – 55K
  • Sr. AE | $56 – 70K
  • AS | $71 – 85K
  • Sr. AS/Director | $90 – 115K
  • VP | $120 – 175K
  • SVP | $180 – 220K
  • EVP | $221 – 290K
  • Practice Leader – $225 – 300K
  • GM | $290K ++

Chicago

  • AAE | $35 – $40K
  • AE | $40 – $50K
  • Sr. AE | $50 – 65K
  • AS | $62 – 80K
  • Sr. AS/Director | $80 – 110K
  • VP | $110 – $135K
  • SVP | $130 – $190K
  • EVP | $190 – $250K
  • Practice Leader: $225-290K
  • GM | $300K +


Los Angeles

  • AAE | $38-42K
  • AE | $43-52K
  • Sr. AE | $53-65K
  • AS | $66-80K
  • Sr. AS / Director | $81-115K
  • VP | $116-150K
  • SVP | $151-210K
  • EVP | $211-320K
  • Practice Leader | $210-320K
  • GM | $320K +

San Francisco

  • AAE | $40 – $50K
  • AE | $50 – $65K
  • Sr. AE | $65 – $80K
  • AS | $80 – $95K
  • Sr AS/Director | $95 – $120K
  • VP | $120 – $165K
  • SVP $165 – $225K
  • EVP $225 – $290K
  • Practice Leader: $225-290K
  • GM | $350K ++

Seattle

  • AAE | $35 – $40K
  • AE | $40 – $50K
  • Sr. AE | $50 – 65K
  • AS | $65 – 80K
  • Sr. AS/Director | $80 – 100K
  • VP | $100 – $125K
  • SVP | $125 – $190K
  • EVP | $190 – $250K
  • Practice Leader: $225-290K
  • GM | $250K +

Phoenix

  • AAE | $35 – $43K
  • AE | $43 – $55K
  • Sr. AE | $55 – 62K
  • AS | $05 – 85K
  • Sr. AS/Director | $85 – 115K
  • VP | $110 – $150K
  • SVP | $145 – $185K
  • EVP | $180 – $210K
  • Practice Leader: $210-250K
  • GM | $250K +