Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Technical Writers
Technical Writers write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Technical Writers with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $45,510 to $57,960 per year or $22 to $28 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Technical Writers to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $57 | $119,040 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $46 | $95,690 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $36 | $74,650 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $28 | $57,960 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $22 | $45,510 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| CA | $46 | $95,170 |
| MA | $45 | $93,290 |
| DC | $43 | $90,230 |
| MD | $42 | $87,520 |
| VA | $42 | $87,470 |
| NJ | $41 | $85,970 |
| NY | $40 | $84,220 |
| WA | $40 | $82,940 |
| CT | $39 | $81,340 |
| NC | $39 | $81,200 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Technical Writer is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at CA might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Technical Writers are in the states of CA, MA, DC, MD and VA.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution | $102680 | $49.37 |
| Utility System Construction | $100710 | $48.42 |
| Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing | $97790 | $47.02 |
| Specialty Hospitals | $92960 | $44.69 |
| Automotive Repair and Maintenance | $92660 | $44.55 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $92090 | $44.27 |
| Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance | $89170 | $42.87 |
| Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers | $88570 | $42.58 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $88570 | $42.58 |
| Software Publishers | $87720 | $42.17 |
| Other Information Services | $87160 | $41.90 |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services | $85750 | $41.23 |
| Rail Transportation | $84990 | $40.86 |
| Telecommunications | $84600 | $40.67 |
| Legal Services | $84490 | $40.62 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | $84310 | $40.53 |
| Remediation and Other Waste Management Services | $83590 | $40.19 |
| Employment Services | $83500 | $40.15 |
| Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing | $82970 | $39.89 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods | $82510 | $39.67 |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal | $82320 | $39.58 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $81480 | $39.17 |
| Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services | $80610 | $38.75 |
| Business Schools and Computer and Management Training | $79910 | $38.42 |
| Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing | $79810 | $38.37 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations | $79610 | $38.27 |
| Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $79560 | $38.25 |
| Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | $79420 | $38.18 |
| Real Estate | $79350 | $38.15 |
| Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing | $79260 | $38.10 |
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