Copy Editor Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Data from 2008 shows about 122,000 jobs for copy editors in the US. This job is ranked high for unemployment. On the order of 4% of employees could not find work in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Ithaca (New York), Champaign (Illinois), and New York (New York) can boast the most copy editors for their size. Corpus Christi (Texas), Bakersfield (California), and Riverside (California) have the fewest per capita.

The highest salaries for workers are found in Naples (Florida), Manchester (New Hampshire), and New York (New York), and the lowest-paying areas are in Merced (California), Shreveport (Louisiana), and Johnstown (Pennsylvania).

Training and Education

Many employers require that job applicants for this career have a bachelor's degree. The percentage of copy editors with a bachelor's degree or better is 81%. Approximately 15% of workers went to college, but did not have to get a four year degree. Completing high school was all that was needed for 4% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

About 15% of people in this field work less than full time. Self-employment is the path of choice for 13% of workers.

Copy Editors Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of copy editors compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for copy editors.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$47,000	230
Huntsville	$52,000	180
Montgomery	$42,000	160
Tuscaloosa		50

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$58,000	110

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Phoenix	$49,000	1,130
Tucson	$47,000	310
Kingman	$43,000	40

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Little Rock	$45,000	210
Fayetteville	$35,000	70
Fort Smith	$37,000	60

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
San Francisco	$66,000	1,690
San Jose	$58,000	1,250
San Diego	$46,000	1,020
Santa Ana	$67,000	940
Oakland	$49,000	890
Sacramento	$51,000	540
Riverside	$54,000	230
Oxnard	$61,000	210
Fresno	$52,000	100
Santa Barbara	$53,000	100
Santa Rosa	$50,000	100
Bakersfield	$51,000	60
San Luis Obispo	$52,000	60
Stockton	$56,000	50
Santa Cruz	$50,000	40
Merced	$26,000	40

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Denver	$61,000	1,020
Colorado Springs	$46,000	400
Boulder	$55,000	320

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Bridgeport	$57,000	480
Hartford	$58,000	310
Waterbury	$55,000	70
Norwich		60

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$58,000	190

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$63,000	5,440

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Miami	$62,000	840
Tampa	$64,000	730
Orlando	$50,000	600
Fort Lauderdale	$56,000	530
West Palm Beach		490
Jacksonville	$45,000	440
Sarasota	$57,000	190
Cape Coral	$52,000	190
Deltona	$57,000	170
Gainesville	$51,000	160
Tallahassee	$48,000	150
Palm Bay		100
Lakeland	$65,000	90
Pensacola	$47,000	80
Naples	$84,000	80
Port St Lucie	$48,000	70
Ocala	$54,000	50

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Atlanta	$56,000	2,130
Savannah		170
Augusta	$49,000	90
Athens	$55,000	60
Macon		40

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$54,000	230

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$51,000	190
Pocatello	$35,000	30

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Chicago	$57,000	4,770
Champaign	$42,000	270
Peoria	$51,000	110
Rockford	$52,000	90

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$48,000	620
South Bend	$35,000	130
Bloomington	$44,000	90
Evansville	$48,000	50
Terre Haute	$44,000	40

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Davenport	$43,000	210
Cedar Rapids	$41,000	200
Iowa City	$45,000	110
Waterloo	$34,000	50
Ames	$37,000	50

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Wichita	$41,000	120
Topeka	$57,000	50
Lawrence	$44,000	40

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Louisville	$54,000	320
Lexington	$47,000	180

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New Orleans	$50,000	250
Baton Rouge	$50,000	130
Shreveport	$34,000	70
Monroe	$44,000	30

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$56,000	180

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baltimore	$46,000	1,140
Bethesda	$66,000	960
Hagerstown	$43,000	50

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$64,000	3,180
Framingham	$59,000	240
Springfield	$42,000	190
Worcester	$53,000	110
Barnstable Town	$56,000	70
Lowell	$57,000	50
New Bedford	$65,000	40
Pittsfield	$48,000	30

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Warren	$51,000	530
Grand Rapids	$43,000	310
Ann Arbor	$48,000	170
Lansing	$50,000	140
Holland	$36,000	40

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Minneapolis	$50,000	2,810
Rochester	$58,000	80
Duluth	$40,000	70
St Cloud	$37,000	60

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$42,000	120

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers
St Louis	$67,000	700
Kansas City	$60,000	670
Springfield	$37,000	110
Columbia	$42,000	100
Jefferson City	$42,000	40

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Missoula	$40,000	60
Billings	$39,000	50

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$43,000	230
Lincoln	$44,000	160

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$54,000	290
Reno	$54,000	100

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashua	$53,000	110
Rochester	$45,000	90
Manchester	$69,000	80
Portsmouth	$48,000	40

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Edison	$50,000	820
Newark	$65,000	620
Trenton	$58,000	260
Camden	$61,000	230
Atlantic City	$57,000	70
Vineland	$38,000	50

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$53,000	220

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$79,000	15,700
Nassau	$61,000	1,290
Albany	$60,000	590
Rochester	$60,000	540
Buffalo	$53,000	260
Syracuse	$44,000	170
Poughkeepsie	$46,000	130
Ithaca	$40,000	120
Kingston		120
Binghamton	$47,000	60

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charlotte	$53,000	470
Raleigh	$52,000	420
Durham	$49,000	300
Greensboro	$52,000	190
Asheville	$51,000	110
Winston Salem	$40,000	90
Wilmington	$52,000	70
Fayetteville	$48,000	60

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Bismarck	$42,000	40
Fargo	$48,000	40

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Columbus	$41,000	1,030
Cleveland	$56,000	810
Cincinnati	$45,000	670
Dayton	$45,000	610
Akron	$50,000	270
Toledo	$45,000	180
Youngstown	$51,000	80

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$30,000	460

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Portland	$55,000	670
Salem	$39,000	90
Medford	$53,000	90
Eugene	$46,000	80
Bend	$43,000	40

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$59,000	1,920
Pittsburgh	$51,000	680
Allentown	$52,000	270
Scranton	$42,000	230
Harrisburg	$51,000	160
Lancaster	$50,000	130
Reading	$48,000	110
Erie		70
State College		60
Johnstown	$28,000	40

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$66,000	270

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Greenville	$48,000	140
Charleston	$58,000	130
Columbia	$39,000	110
Spartanburg	$45,000	50

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$42,000	70
Rapid City	$40,000	40

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashville	$42,000	630
Knoxville	$44,000	170
Memphis	$46,000	150
Chattanooga	$40,000	80
Kingsport		70

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Houston	$57,000	1,190
Dallas	$60,000	1,160
Austin	$53,000	910
Fort Worth	$53,000	540
San Antonio	$48,000	430
El Paso	$47,000	70
Mcallen	$42,000	70
Waco	$46,000	60
Brownsville	$39,000	60
Killeen	$32,000	50
College Station	$48,000	50
Lubbock	$42,000	40
Tyler	$39,000	40
Corpus Christi	$36,000	40

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Salt Lake City	$49,000	610
Provo	$36,000	160
Ogden	$51,000	120

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$40,000	120

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Virginia Beach	$40,000	720
Richmond	$52,000	290
Charlottesville	$51,000	210
Roanoke	$60,000	70
Lynchburg	$38,000	40
Blacksburg		30

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Seattle	$68,000	1,020
Spokane	$59,000	110
Bellingham	$49,000	80
Bremerton	$57,000	40
Olympia	$50,000	40
Kennewick	$64,000	40

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charleston	$42,000	70
Huntington	$43,000	30

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Madison	$44,000	620
Milwaukee	$57,000	580
Green Bay	$41,000	100
Appleton	$47,000	80
Oshkosh	$54,000	40

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