Arts, Design & Media

Writers & Authors

SOC 27-3043

Write articles, books, scripts, and copy for a living.

The job

Median pay

$77k

$58k to $102k typical range

Outlook, 2025 to 2035

Declining

-0.3% projected

Openings a year

12k

BLS projection

Typical education

Bachelor's

Our model

AI displacement risk

Very high

How much of this job AI may do instead of the person

Works with AI

4/100

AI alongside the person rather than instead of them

AI exposure

99th pct

More exposed than 99% of occupations · modeled estimate · 99th pct in Microsoft's data

Future-proof

34/100

At a glance

Modeled AI exposure for Writers & Authors ranks at the 99th percentile; displacement risk is very high and works-with-AI 4/100, tilting toward AI replacing tasks. Getting in usually takes a bachelor's degree. For Writers & Authors, the median wage is $76,910, 14% above the typical occupation we cover, and 5% above the Arts, Design & Media median. Projected employment change for 2025 to 2035 is -0.3%, 4.0 points below typical growth across the occupations we cover. BLS projects about 11,900 openings a year. Modeled AI exposure for Stage & Production Designers is 41 points lower.

Take the next step

Weigh it against Producers & DirectorsPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostWashington DC leads at $129k; all states are listed below Find careers like itOpen the map at Writers & Authors and explore its neighbours See open jobsWriters & Authors roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Writers & Authors, who lean most on writing Real pay & reviewsSelf-reported pay and reviews on Glassdoor

Similar pay in Arts, Design & Media

Key skills

Writing
Reading Comprehension
Speaking
Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Active Learning

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 50 states and DC. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
California	8,390	0.5	1.5×	$86k
New York	7,480	0.8	2.5×	$101k (estimated)
Florida	3,010	0.3	1.0×	$68k
Illinois	2,640	0.4	1.4×	$68k
Texas	2,320	0.2	0.5×	$70k
North Carolina	1,810	0.4	1.2×	$64k
Virginia	1,530	0.4	1.2×	$85k
Massachusetts	1,350	0.4	1.2×	$85k
Colorado	1,300	0.5	1.5×	$77k
Tennessee	1,260	0.4	1.3×	$59k

All 50 states and DC

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Michigan	1,221 (estimated)	0.3 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$68k (estimated)
New Jersey	1,180	0.3	0.9×	$82k
Pennsylvania	1,080	0.2	0.6×	$77k
Washington DC	1,050	1.5	4.8×	$129k
Oregon	950	0.5	1.6×	$81k
Ohio	830	0.1	0.5×	$66k
Georgia	820	0.2	0.5×	$75k
Washington	770	0.2	0.7×	$86k
Minnesota	720	0.2	0.8×	$73k
Wisconsin	710	0.2	0.8×	$64k
Arizona	600	0.2	0.6×	$56k
Missouri	600	0.2	0.7×	$58k
Maryland	540	0.2	0.6×	$104k
South Carolina	520	0.2	0.7×	$52k
Connecticut	480	0.3	0.9×	$98k
Louisiana	480	0.2	0.8×	$90k
Indiana	450	0.1	0.5×	$76k
Utah	410	0.2	0.8×	$65k
Kentucky	350	0.2	0.6×	$49k
Iowa	290	0.2	0.6×	$61k
Arkansas	270	0.2	0.7×	$48k
Kansas	240	0.2	0.5×	$66k
Nebraska	240	0.2	0.8×	$65k
Oklahoma	220	0.1	0.4×	$59k
Maine	200	0.3	1.0×	$65k (estimated)
Nevada	190	0.1	0.4×	$64k
Alabama	180	0.1	0.3×	$67k
New Hampshire	180	0.3	0.8×	$72k
Mississippi	130	0.1	0.4×	$54k
Rhode Island	110	0.2	0.7×	$70k
Vermont	110	0.4	1.2×	$94k
West Virginia	110	0.2	0.5×	$64k
Delaware	94 (estimated)	0.2 (estimated)	0.6× (estimated)	$73k (estimated)
Idaho	90	0.1	0.3×	$56k
Montana	90	0.2	0.6×	$63k (estimated)
New Mexico	90	0.1	0.3×	$65k (estimated)
North Dakota	80	0.2	0.6×	$51k
Alaska	75 (estimated)	0.2 (estimated)	0.8× (estimated)	$66k (estimated)
Hawaii	60	0.1	0.3×	$71k (estimated)
South Dakota	60	0.1	0.4×	$57k
Wyoming	56 (estimated)	0.2 (estimated)	0.7× (estimated)	$50k

Top metro areas

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ7,220 jobs
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN2,120 jobs · $76k median
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV2,060 jobs · $108k median
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA1,560 jobs
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL1,270 jobs · $66k median
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH1,130 jobs · $85k median
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO860 jobs · $69k median
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX850 jobs · $65k median

Where this ranks

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Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.