SalaryExplorer

SOC 27-3031 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Public Relations Specialists — Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem, NC · 10 metro areas compared

$61,580 /year
$29.61per hour
430jobs in area
−17.6%vs US median

Median pay for this occupation in Winston-Salem, NC is $61,580 a year, trailing the national median of $74,750 by 17.6%.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $74,75010TH$33,17025TH$45,290MEDIAN$61,58075TH$83,41090TH$104,670

How pay has moved

$64,168$48,6432019202020212022202320242025$61,580
$58,040 in 2019 to $61,580 in 2025, +6.1% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+4.8%
Openings per year
27,600
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Winston-Salem, NC.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

Median pay for this occupation in Winston-Salem, NC is $61,580 a year, trailing the national median of $74,750 by 17.6%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $45,290 and $83,410. The lowest tenth earn under $33,170, while the highest tenth earn more than $104,670.

The area has 430 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.87 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Within the state, Fayetteville records the highest median at $77,500. Of the 468 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 175th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Winston-Salem, NC · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$33,170−55.6%
25th$45,290−39.4%
Median (50th)$61,580−17.6%
75th$83,410+11.6%
90th$104,670+40.0%
Mean$67,930−9.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in North Carolina

Median annual wage for Public Relations Specialists, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Fayetteville$77,500170
2Durham$76,9701,090
3Charlotte$75,1902,470
4Greenville$68,960130
5Raleigh$68,7902,330
6Pinehurst$64,09060
7Wilmington$63,620340
8Greensboro$62,580490
9Jacksonville$61,05080
10Rocky Mount$61,03050

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Winston-Salem run 8.0% below the national average, so the median of $61,580 goes as far as $66,935 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 10.5% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$61,580as reported by BLS

Local price level

92.0US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$66,935US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $61,580 a year, 17.6% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $33,170 to $104,670 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 430 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Fayetteville, at $77,500.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Public Relations Specialists in Winston-Salem, NC?

The median annual wage is $61,580, or $29.61 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $74,750, so pay in Winston-Salem, NC is 17.6% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Winston-Salem, NC earns more than $104,670 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $33,170 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Fayetteville, at $77,500 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 430 jobs in this occupation in Winston-Salem, NC. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.