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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011
27-3043 Writers and Authors
Originate and prepare written material, such as scripts, stories, advertisements, and other material. Excludes "Public Relations Specialists" (27-3031) and "Technical Writers" (27-3042).
National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation
National estimates for this occupation: Top
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 40,930 |
1.9 % |
$32.72 |
$68,060 |
1.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$13.55 |
$19.03 |
$26.86 |
$38.00 |
$55.64 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$28,180 |
$39,580 |
$55,870 |
$79,050 |
$115,740 |
Industry profile for this occupation: Top
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
7,040 |
1.46 |
$26.03 |
$54,140 |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services |
5,960 |
1.42 |
$37.62 |
$78,250 |
| Radio and Television Broadcasting |
2,760 |
1.30 |
$30.72 |
$63,900 |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries |
2,630 |
0.75 |
$48.10 |
$100,060 |
| Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers |
2,610 |
5.47 |
$46.78 |
$97,300 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers |
2,610 |
5.47 |
$46.78 |
$97,300 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
7,040 |
1.46 |
$26.03 |
$54,140 |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services |
5,960 |
1.42 |
$37.62 |
$78,250 |
| Radio and Television Broadcasting |
2,760 |
1.30 |
$30.72 |
$63,900 |
| Other Information Services |
1,310 |
0.88 |
$30.82 |
$64,100 |
Top paying industries for this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) |
(8) |
(8) |
$72.28 |
$150,340 |
| Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers |
(8) |
(8) |
$57.75 |
$120,130 |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries |
2,630 |
0.75 |
$48.10 |
$100,060 |
| Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers |
2,610 |
5.47 |
$46.78 |
$97,300 |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services |
(8) |
(8) |
$43.23 |
$89,910 |
Geographic profile for this occupation: Top
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in this occupation:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York |
6,500 |
0.77 |
2.42 |
$41.95 |
$87,250 |
| California |
6,500 |
0.46 |
1.45 |
$45.05 |
$93,700 |
| Texas |
1,970 |
0.19 |
0.60 |
$26.44 |
$54,990 |
| Illinois |
1,870 |
0.34 |
1.05 |
$29.62 |
$61,610 |
| Florida |
1,720 |
0.24 |
0.75 |
$24.96 |
$51,910 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
1,350 |
2.09 |
6.56 |
$41.49 |
$86,310 |
| New York |
6,500 |
0.77 |
2.42 |
$41.95 |
$87,250 |
| Vermont |
160 |
0.55 |
1.72 |
$23.44 |
$48,760 |
| Minnesota |
1,340 |
0.52 |
1.62 |
$25.69 |
$53,430 |
| Virginia |
1,640 |
0.46 |
1.44 |
$29.99 |
$62,370 |
Top paying States for this occupation:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division |
5,500 |
1.09 |
3.40 |
$43.81 |
$91,130 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division |
3,720 |
0.97 |
3.05 |
$55.30 |
$115,030 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division |
2,390 |
1.03 |
3.24 |
$37.92 |
$78,870 |
| Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division |
1,440 |
0.40 |
1.26 |
$30.37 |
$63,170 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
1,060 |
0.62 |
1.94 |
$27.36 |
$56,920 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division |
800 |
0.83 |
2.61 |
$31.47 |
$65,450 |
| Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division |
770 |
0.43 |
1.34 |
$31.48 |
$65,480 |
| Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division |
690 |
0.51 |
1.59 |
$36.05 |
$74,990 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division |
690 |
0.41 |
1.29 |
$33.48 |
$69,640 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA |
500 |
0.23 |
0.71 |
$31.92 |
$66,390 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division |
5,500 |
1.09 |
3.40 |
$43.81 |
$91,130 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division |
2,390 |
1.03 |
3.24 |
$37.92 |
$78,870 |
| Charlottesville, VA |
90 |
0.99 |
3.10 |
$30.63 |
$63,700 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division |
3,720 |
0.97 |
3.05 |
$55.30 |
$115,030 |
| Logan, UT-ID |
40 |
0.92 |
2.90 |
$19.09 |
$39,700 |
| Medford, OR |
70 |
0.89 |
2.79 |
(8) |
(8) |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division |
800 |
0.83 |
2.61 |
$31.47 |
$65,450 |
| Bismarck, ND |
50 |
0.79 |
2.48 |
$13.21 |
$27,480 |
| Rochester-Dover, NH-ME |
40 |
0.74 |
2.32 |
$24.49 |
$50,930 |
| Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division |
250 |
0.67 |
2.10 |
$30.75 |
$63,950 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division |
3,720 |
0.97 |
3.05 |
$55.30 |
$115,030 |
| Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA |
80 |
0.48 |
1.51 |
$48.53 |
$100,950 |
| New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division |
5,500 |
1.09 |
3.40 |
$43.81 |
$91,130 |
| Framingham, MA NECTA Division |
30 |
0.21 |
0.67 |
$42.15 |
$87,680 |
| Syracuse, NY |
80 |
0.25 |
0.80 |
$41.93 |
$87,200 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division |
2,390 |
1.03 |
3.24 |
$37.92 |
$78,870 |
| Baltimore-Towson, MD |
410 |
0.33 |
1.04 |
$37.30 |
$77,580 |
| Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO |
310 |
0.26 |
0.82 |
$37.26 |
$77,500 |
| Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division |
690 |
0.51 |
1.59 |
$36.05 |
$74,990 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
50 |
0.19 |
0.58 |
$35.75 |
$74,360 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:
About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OES estimates and related information:
May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order
List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order
Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012
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