As of July 01, 2026, the average hourly rate for a Public Relations Manager in the United States is $64, which translates to an annual salary of about $133,295.
However, the hourly wage can vary significantly based on several factors. Here’s a detailed look at the typical pay range per hour:
Compensation Planning
Develop a Job Description
Pay Equity
2026 Compensation Trend
Smart Recruiting
Recruit with AI
A Public Relations Manager's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education, and company size can directly affect your earning potential.
Experience is a primary driver of a Public Relations Manager's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:
| Job Role | Years of Experience | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Public Relations Specialist III | 4-7 years | $94,723 |
| Public Relations Specialist IV | 7+ years | $118,077 |
| Public Relations Manager | 7+ years | $133,295 |
| Public Relations Senior Manager | 7+ years | $160,986 |
| VP of Public Relations | 7+ years | $252,893 |
What Am I Worth?
Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Public Relations Managers. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
Demanded Skills for the Role:
| Skills | Demand Percentage |
|---|---|
| Leadership | 7.91% |
| Brand Awareness | 1.7% |
| Crisis Communications | 1.3% |
| Skill | Salary | Salary % Increase |
|---|---|---|
|
Artificial Intelligence
|
$151,956 |
14%
|
|
Services Marketing
|
$145,292 |
9%
|
|
B2B
|
$139,960 |
5%
|
|
Insight
|
$138,627 |
4%
|
|
Corporate Communications
|
$138,627 |
4%
|
|
Storytelling
|
$138,627 |
4%
|
Public Relations Manager salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $149,089. While startup companies pay approximate $126,085.
| Company Size | Employees | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Startup | 1~50 | $126,085 |
| Growth Stage | 51~500 | $133,355 |
| Established | 501~5000 | $143,974 |
| Enterprise | 5000+ | $149,089 |
For Public Relations Manager roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 73% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Biotechnology and Internet sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 35% above the average. In contrast, Public Relations Manager positions in Transportation or Hospitality & Leisure typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Public Relations Manager as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.
| Industry Sector | Average Annual Salary | Average Hourly Rate | Pay vs.Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biotechnology | $179,948 | $87.0 | 35% |
| Internet | $173,284 | $83.0 | 30% |
| Energy & Utilities | $166,619 | $80.0 | 25% |
| Aerospace & Defense | $153,289 | $74.0 | 15% |
| Financial Services | $146,624 | $70.0 | 10% |
Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Public Relations Managers enter the field with a Bachelor's Degree degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.
According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Public Relations Manager with a Bachelor's Degree is between $122,808 and $129,718).
Public Relations Manager Salaries by Degree Level
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| No Diploma | 0.3% |
| High School | 1.6% |
| Associates | 2.0% |
| Bachelors | 68.7% |
| Masters | 26.0% |
| Doctorate | 1.4% |
Understanding how a Public Relations Manager's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.
Last Updated on July 01, 2026Salaries for a Public Relations Manager can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $111,964 in 2023 to around $110,188 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Public Relations Manager salary trends, .
| Year | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 2022 |
View More
|
| 2023 | $111,964 |
| 2024 | $111,344 |
| 2025 | $110,188 |
| 2026 |
View More
|
| 2027 |
View More
|
If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution.
Compensation PlanningHere are companies hiring for Public Relations Manager and their salaries, click below for more details.
Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Public Relations Manager job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.
Get a Salary Increase
Analyze the market and your qualifications to negotiate your salary with confidence.
Search Job Openings
Search thousands of open positions to find your next opportunity.
Adjust Employee Salary
Individualize employee pay based on unique job requirements and personal qualifications.
Price My Industry Jobs
Get the latest market price for benchmark jobs and jobs in your industry.
The Biotechnology industry offers the highest average compensation for Public Relations Manager roles, with salaries approximately 35% above the market median.
Develops and implements policies and procedures for the public relations department. Maintains favorable public image for employer or client by communicating programs, accomplishments, and/or points of view. Evaluates all forms of communications before release to ensure accuracy and appropriateness of message and authorizes release. Prepares and distributes news releases, fact sheets, scripts, etc. to media outlets. Requires a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a head of a unit/department. Manages subordinate staff in the day-to-day performance of their jobs. True first level manager. Ensures that project/department milestones/goals are met and adhering to approved budgets. Has full authority for personnel actions. Extensive knowledge of department processes. Typically requires 5 years experience in the related area as an individual contributor. 1 to 3 years supervisory experience may be required.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Leadership: Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
Brand Awareness: Brand awareness is the extent to which customers are able to recall or recognize a brand under different conditions. Brand awareness is one of two dimensions from brand knowledge, an associative network memory model.
Crisis Communications: Crisis communication is a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation. The communication scholar Timothy Coombs defines crisis as "the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an organization's performance and generate negative outcomes" and crisis communication as "the collection, processing, and dissemination of information required to address a crisis situation." Meaning can be socially constructed; because of this, the way that the stakeholders of an organization view an event (positively, neutrally, or negatively) is a major contributing factor to whether the event will become a crisis. Additionally, it is important to separate a true crisis situation from an incident. The term crisis “should be reserved for serious events that require careful attention from management.”
Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources. We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.
Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:
