Pick an occupation and a state to see real wage data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics: percentile bars for the national distribution, and how your state's median compares. Every figure comes from the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release, baked into this page on 13 July 2026. Nothing is estimated.
National employment: 47,940 jobs. Mean wage: $86,090 a year ($41.39/hour).
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The table below is the national annual wage distribution for the three writing occupations tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. Half of all writers and authors employed in wage-and-salary jobs earn more than $76,910 a year, but the spread is wide: the bottom tenth earn under $44,310 while the top tenth clear $139,870.
| Occupation | Employment | 10th pct | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Editors (27-3041) | 91,690 | $41,250 | $57,300 | $77,920 | $106,100 | $153,700 |
| Technical Writers (27-3042) | 45,500 | $57,440 | $70,880 | $90,390 | $115,510 | $145,270 |
| Writers and Authors (27-3043) | 47,940 | $44,310 | $58,230 | $76,910 | $101,950 | $139,870 |
| 1 | District of Columbia | $129,300 |
| 2 | Maryland | $104,330 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $98,460 |
| 4 | Vermont | $94,430 |
| 5 | Louisiana | $89,520 |
| 6 | California | $86,480 |
| 7 | Washington | $85,700 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $85,260 |
| 9 | Virginia | $85,000 |
| 10 | New Jersey | $81,590 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $47,970 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $48,780 |
| 41 | Wyoming | $49,650 |
| 40 | North Dakota | $50,860 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $51,920 |
| 38 | Mississippi | $54,180 |
| 37 | Arizona | $55,990 |
| 36 | Idaho | $56,360 |
| 35 | South Dakota | $56,700 |
| 34 | Missouri | $58,140 |
OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only, so freelancers and self-employed authors are not in these figures. That matters for writing more than for most fields: a large share of working writers freelance, and their earnings can sit well above or below these bands. If you freelance, pair this page with ourfreelance writing rates calculator, which is built on the Editorial Freelancers Association's published rate chart instead.
A high state median also is not the whole story. The District of Columbia tops the writer table partly because federal agencies, contractors and advocacy groups employ salaried writers at policy pay grades, and a state with a small writer workforce can swing on a few employers. Check the employment column in the explorer alongside the wage.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates forWriters and Authors (27-3043),Editors (27-3041) andTechnical Writers (27-3042), retrieved on 13 July 2026 via the BLS Public Data API. Where BLS suppresses a state estimate, this page says "not published" rather than guessing.
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