Public Affairs Careers

Salary data and insights based on 2,349 job postings

Public Affairs professionals earn a median salary of $62,500 at entry-level, rising to $101,917 at mid-level and $164,500 for senior roles — representing a 163% increase from entry to senior positions. The field is heavily concentrated in Washington, DC, reflecting the sector's close ties to federal policy and government institutions. Across 2,349 analyzed job postings, the most in-demand skills include project management, stakeholder engagement, media relations, government relations, and written communication.

Last updated: August 2026

Entry Level

$62,500

185 jobs

Mid Level

$101,917

511 jobs

Senior Level

$164,500

554 jobs

Jobs Analyzed

2,349

Last 6 months

Salary by Experience Level

Chart shows median salaries. Hover for full range details.

Most Common Job Titles

Required Skills

Project managementStakeholder engagementMedia relationsGovernment relationsWritten communicationWritten and verbal communicationMedia RelationsSocial media managementStakeholder relationship managementStrategic communicationsStakeholder EngagementGovernment RelationsProject ManagementStrategic CommunicationsMicrosoft Office Suite

Top Employers

Gilead Sciences

20 jobs

Google

19 jobs

Meta

18 jobs

U.S. Department of Justice

14 jobs

American Cancer Society

13 jobs

Booz Allen Hamilton

13 jobs

SKDK

11 jobs

Turning Point Action

10 jobs

Intuit

9 jobs

Waymo

8 jobs

Top Locations

Washington, DC

273 jobs

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

109 jobs

United States

101 jobs

New York, NY

85 jobs

Washington, DC, USA

50 jobs

united states

39 jobs

Austin, TX

24 jobs

Washington DC-Baltimore Area

23 jobs

New York, New York, United States

22 jobs

Chicago, IL

21 jobs

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