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Is journalism a popular major?

Is journalism in demand?

Traditional journalism and mass communication jobs, however, are projected to decline over the next few years, anywhere from 3% to 4%. That said, average annual openings certainly won’t run dry. The projected employment growth for digital communication, public relations, advertising, and most broadcast fields is more positive.

Titles with strong job outlook

Not all growth is created equal. The job postings stat below shows the relative size of each job category. For example, a 10% growth rate in film and video editors would equate to 392 job postings. But that same growth rate in a much bigger job, like public relations specialists, would result in over 8,700 job postings. 

Growing traditional journalism jobs 

Growing mass communication jobs

Declining journalism and mass communication jobs 

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BEFORE

^{(Sources: Job posting data from Chmura/JobsEQ; projected employment growth and average annual openings from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)}

Do journalists make good money? (new)

TURN THIS INTO THAT BAR-RANGE CHART! ASK MEGAN WHAT IT'S CALLED. ADD BACK IN SOME OF THE MORE PROMINENT MASS COMM TITLES AND THEN CREATE BUCKETS WITHIN THE TABLE: TRADITIONAL JOURNALISM AND MEDIA & MASS COMM.

As you might suspect, putting a dollar amount on a journalist’s salary depends on certain circumstances. Experience, geography, and types of journalism are all variables. A New York Times journalist’s salary likely will be higher than that of someone working an entry-level job in a rural region. 

Below you’ll find salary ranges, categorized by the type of job often held by those with a journalism degree. The median annual salary is there, but we also want to show what an income looks like at various percentiles (25th, 75th). The lower point gives you an idea of where entry-level jobs might land, or what you might be paid in certain geographic regions that aren’t major media markets. (It’s not impossible to make six figures right out of college, but it’s hardly common.)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023

Do journalists make good money? (before)

As you might suspect, putting a dollar amount on a journalist’s salary depends on certain circumstances. Experience, geography, and types of journalism are all variables. A New York Times journalist’s salary likely will be higher than that of someone working an entry-level job in a rural region. 

Below you’ll find salary ranges, categorized by the type of job often held by those with a journalism degree. The median annual salary is there, but we also want to show what an income looks like at various percentiles (25th, 75th). The lower point gives you an idea of where entry-level jobs might land, or what you might be paid in certain geographic regions that aren’t major media markets. (It’s not impossible to make six figures right out of college, but it’s hardly common.)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023

State Averages Table (new)

ADD BACK SOME MASS COMM TITLES

The average journalist salary figure does differ by region — the best-paid journalists tend to find themselves working on the coasts, home to many major media markets. Those markets have greater demand for certain types of journalists — salary data show that, on average, major broadcast media markets pay more-competitive rates for producers, directors, and announcers. As a result, those positions in those regions often rank amongst the highest-paid journalism jobs.    

Below you’ll find a sampling of average salaries for popular jobs for journalism grads, showing the U.S. average and averages from states at various costs of living throughout the country.

 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023

State Averages Table (before)

The average journalist salary figure does differ by region — the best-paid journalists tend to find themselves working on the coasts, home to many major media markets. Those markets have greater demand for certain types of journalists — salary data show that, on average, major broadcast media markets pay more-competitive rates for producers, directors, and announcers. As a result, those positions in those regions often rank amongst the highest-paid journalism jobs.    

Below you’ll find a sampling of average salaries for popular jobs for journalism and mass communication grads, pulled from states located in various regions of the United States.

 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023

Accredited colleges and universities

Only you can decide what matters most: Will you prioritize location (stay close to home, or go anywhere)? Do you prefer a big campus versus a smaller community? How about the affordability of in-state tuition versus prestige (and the tuition cost that usually comes with it)? 

How to use this list

Use the categories to find schools that match your preferred campus size. 

Then scan the location and tuition to find schools in your target geography and cost ballpark. 

For example, the University of Iowa is a large public university (about 33,000 students) with around 130 journalism graduates per year and in-state tuition just over $10,000. That makes it a good fit if you’re looking for a big-campus experience at a public-school price point.