Career Atlas USA

Public Relations Specialists Salary in Illinois

According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the median annual wage for Public Relations Specialists in Illinois is $76,380. BLS estimates approximately 6,200 people work in this occupation in Illinois. Illinois is 2.2% above the national median ($74,750).

Median salary
$76,380
Average salary
$86,060
Median hourly
$36.72
Employment
6,200

Salary Distribution

Not everyone earns the median. Percentile wages show the range of pay within this occupation.

PercentileAnnual wageHourly wage
10th percentile$47,690$22.93
25th percentile$59,400$28.56
Median (50th)$76,380$36.72
75th percentile$102,950$49.50
90th percentile$139,570$67.10

Data Reliability

BLS OEWS is a survey, not a full census — every estimate carries a margin of error. The relative standard error (RSE) below is BLS’s own measure of how much an estimate could vary; lower is more precise.

Wage estimate
RSE 2.8% — Very reliable
Employment estimate
RSE 8.5% — Reliable

Where Does Your Salary Fall?

Enter an annual salary to see roughly where it falls among reported wages for this occupation, based on the percentile points above.

$

Concentration

Jobs per 1,000
1.017
Location quotient
0.56

Cost-of-Living Adjusted Salary

Illinois’s regional price level is below the national average (index 99.958, where 100 = U.S. average). Adjusted for that, the median salary has the purchasing power of $76,412 at the national price level.

This is a Career Atlas USA calculation based on BLS wage data and BEA Regional Price Parities. It is not a separate BLS wage estimate. Wage data: May 2025. Cost-of-living data: 2024.

Opportunity Score

49.4/ 100

A Career Atlas USA score combining cost-adjusted salary, job density, concentration and employment availability, ranked against every other state for this career. How we calculate this score →

Sources

Wage data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)May 2025 (release 25).

Figures shown as “Not available” reflect wages the source does not publish (e.g. suppressed for reliability), not zero.

← See national Public Relations Specialists salary dataBest states for Public Relations Specialists
Public Relations Specialists Salary in Illinois: Pay & Job Data | Career Atlas USA