Copy Editors: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Job Numbers and Growth

The number of employed copy editors is about 122,000. This occupation has a high unemployment rating.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Approximately 15% of employees work part time. 13% of copy editors have ended up working for themlseves.

Training and Education

People with a bachelor's degree have an easier time finding a job in this career. The percentage of employees with at least a 4 year degree or higher is 81%. Approximately 15% of copy editors started in college but were able to get a job without a degree. Workers with a high school diploma but no further education represent 4% of the total. 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.

Area Job Conditions

Jobs for this occupation are more popular (on a per capita basis) in Ithaca (New York), Champaign (Illinois), and New York (New York), and less popular in Corpus Christi (Texas), Bakersfield (California), and Riverside (California).

Without adjusting for the cost of living, copy editors get paid the most in Naples (Florida), Manchester (New Hampshire), and New York (New York), and the least in Merced (California), Shreveport (Louisiana), and Johnstown (Pennsylvania).

Copy Editors: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Copy Editors, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Copy Editors are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Copy Editors are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Birmingham	230	$47,060	0.5
Alabama	Huntsville	180	$52,160	1.1
Alabama	Montgomery	160	$41,570	1.2
Alabama	Tuscaloosa	50		0.7
Alaska	Anchorage	110	$58,380	0.8
Arizona	Kingman	40	$43,260	1.1
Arizona	Phoenix	1,130	$49,420	0.7
Arizona	Tucson	310	$46,610	1
Arkansas	Fayetteville	70	$34,750	0.4
Arkansas	Fort Smith	60	$37,290	0.6
Arkansas	Little Rock	210	$45,430	0.7
California	Bakersfield	60	$50,710	0.3
California	Fresno	100	$52,470	0.4
California	Merced	40	$25,580	0.9
California	Oakland	890	$48,500	1
California	Oxnard	210	$60,570	0.9
California	Riverside	230	$54,090	0.2
California	Sacramento	540	$50,640	0.7
California	San Diego	1,020	$46,390	0.9
California	San Francisco	1,690	$66,400	2
California	San Jose	1,250	$58,020	1.6
California	San Luis Obispo	60	$52,190	0.8
California	Santa Ana	940	$67,270	0.7
California	Santa Barbara	100	$53,060	0.7
California	Santa Cruz	40	$49,730	0.6
California	Santa Rosa	100	$50,140	0.7
California	Stockton	50	$55,620	0.3
Colorado	Boulder	320	$54,930	2.5
Colorado	Colorado Springs	400	$45,820	1.9
Colorado	Denver	1,020	$60,890	1
Connecticut	Bridgeport	480	$57,280	1.3
Connecticut	Hartford	310	$57,910	0.6
Connecticut	Norwich	60		0.6
Connecticut	Waterbury	70	$55,270	1.4
Delaware	Wilmington	190	$57,840	0.7
District of Columbia	Washington	5,440	$62,880	2.8
Florida	Cape Coral	190	$52,390	1.1
Florida	Deltona	170	$57,100	1.4
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	530	$55,770	0.9
Florida	Gainesville	160	$50,920	1.8
Florida	Jacksonville	440	$45,010	0.9
Florida	Lakeland	90	$65,040	0.6
Florida	Miami	840	$61,580	1
Florida	Naples	80	$83,800	0.8
Florida	Ocala	50	$53,670	0.7
Florida	Orlando	600	$49,810	0.7
Florida	Palm Bay	100		0.6
Florida	Pensacola	80	$46,880	0.7
Florida	Port St Lucie	70	$47,610	0.7
Florida	Sarasota	190	$57,360	0.9
Florida	Tallahassee	150	$47,580	1.1
Florida	Tampa	730	$63,610	0.7
Florida	West Palm Beach	490		1.1
Georgia	Athens	60	$54,840	1.1
Georgia	Atlanta	2,130	$56,070	1.1
Georgia	Augusta	90	$49,330	0.5
Georgia	Macon	40		0.5
Georgia	Savannah	170		1.4
Hawaii	Honolulu	230	$53,650	0.6
Idaho	Boise	190	$51,440	0.9
Idaho	Pocatello	30	$35,280	1.4
Illinois	Champaign	270	$41,650	3.7
Illinois	Chicago	4,770	$56,690	1.5
Illinois	Peoria	110	$50,660	0.8
Illinois	Rockford	90	$51,630	0.7
Indiana	Bloomington	90	$44,000	1.7
Indiana	Evansville	50	$47,800	0.4
Indiana	Indianapolis	620	$47,580	0.8
Indiana	South Bend	130	$35,380	1.2
Indiana	Terre Haute	40	$44,380	0.8
Iowa	Ames	50	$36,600	1.9
Iowa	Cedar Rapids	200	$40,640	1.9
Iowa	Davenport	210	$42,650	1.4
Iowa	Iowa City	110	$45,210	2
Iowa	Waterloo	50	$33,580	0.8
Kansas	Lawrence	40	$44,310	1.2
Kansas	Topeka	50	$57,480	0.6
Kansas	Wichita	120	$41,010	0.5
Kentucky	Lexington	180	$46,670	0.9
Kentucky	Louisville	320	$54,330	0.6
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	130	$49,730	0.4
Louisiana	Monroe	30	$43,540	0.5
Louisiana	New Orleans	250	$49,550	0.6
Louisiana	Shreveport	70	$33,710	0.5
Maine	Portland	180	$56,350	1.1
Maryland	Baltimore	1,140	$46,360	1
Maryland	Bethesda	960	$66,030	2
Maryland	Hagerstown	50	$42,860	0.6
Massachusetts	Barnstable Town	70	$55,540	0.9
Massachusetts	Boston	3,180	$63,880	2.2
Massachusetts	Framingham	240	$58,880	1.8
Massachusetts	Lowell	50	$56,550	0.5
Massachusetts	New Bedford	40	$65,180	0.8
Massachusetts	Pittsfield	30	$48,020	1.3
Massachusetts	Springfield	190	$42,000	0.8
Massachusetts	Worcester	110	$52,690	0.5
Michigan	Ann Arbor	170	$48,280	1.3
Michigan	Grand Rapids	310	$42,680	1
Michigan	Holland	40	$35,500	0.5
Michigan	Lansing	140	$50,490	0.9
Michigan	Warren	530	$51,230	0.5
Minnesota	Duluth	70	$40,490	0.7
Minnesota	Minneapolis	2,810	$50,370	1.9
Minnesota	Rochester	80	$58,490	1.1
Minnesota	St Cloud	60	$37,040	0.8
Mississippi	Jackson	120	$42,020	0.6
Missouri	Columbia	100	$41,930	1.6
Missouri	Jefferson City	40	$41,530	0.8
Missouri	Kansas City	670	$60,060	0.8
Missouri	Springfield	110	$36,690	0.7
Missouri	St Louis	700	$66,660	0.6
Montana	Billings	50	$39,040	0.8
Montana	Missoula	60	$40,230	1.6
Nebraska	Lincoln	160	$44,430	1.2
Nebraska	Omaha	230	$43,440	0.6
Nevada	Las Vegas	290	$54,180	0.4
Nevada	Reno	100	$53,620	0.6
New Hampshire	Manchester	80	$68,940	1
New Hampshire	Nashua	110	$52,980	1
New Hampshire	Portsmouth	40	$48,220	1
New Hampshire	Rochester	90	$45,380	2.1
New Jersey	Atlantic City	70	$57,310	0.6
New Jersey	Camden	230	$60,940	0.5
New Jersey	Edison	820	$49,710	0.9
New Jersey	Newark	620	$65,120	0.7
New Jersey	Trenton	260	$58,380	1.5
New Jersey	Vineland	50	$38,330	1.2
New Mexico	Albuquerque	220	$53,190	0.7
New York	Albany	590	$60,130	1.6
New York	Binghamton	60	$47,000	0.7
New York	Buffalo	260	$53,420	0.6
New York	Ithaca	120	$39,740	3.9
New York	Kingston	120		2.7
New York	Nassau	1,290	$60,500	1.2
New York	New York	15,700	$78,880	3.6
New York	Poughkeepsie	130	$46,340	0.7
New York	Rochester	540	$59,970	1.3
New York	Syracuse	170	$44,320	0.7
North Carolina	Asheville	110	$50,810	0.8
North Carolina	Charlotte	470	$53,010	0.6
North Carolina	Durham	300	$49,320	1.3
North Carolina	Fayetteville	60	$48,090	0.6
North Carolina	Greensboro	190	$51,910	0.6
North Carolina	Raleigh	420	$51,680	1
North Carolina	Wilmington	70	$52,480	0.6
North Carolina	Winston Salem	90	$40,330	0.5
North Dakota	Bismarck	40	$41,910	1
North Dakota	Fargo	40	$47,970	0.4
Ohio	Akron	270	$49,520	1
Ohio	Cincinnati	670	$45,480	0.8
Ohio	Cleveland	810	$55,520	0.9
Ohio	Columbus	1,030	$41,140	1.3
Ohio	Dayton	610	$45,040	1.9
Ohio	Toledo	180	$44,960	0.7
Ohio	Youngstown	80	$51,360	0.4
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	460	$29,870	1
Oregon	Bend	40	$43,020	0.8
Oregon	Eugene	80	$45,990	0.7
Oregon	Medford	90	$52,720	1.4
Oregon	Portland	670	$54,550	0.8
Oregon	Salem	90	$38,920	0.7
Pennsylvania	Allentown	270	$51,980	1
Pennsylvania	Erie	70		0.7
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	160	$51,360	0.6
Pennsylvania	Johnstown	40	$27,830	1
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	130	$50,080	0.7
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	1,920	$58,720	1.2
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	680	$51,420	0.7
Pennsylvania	Reading	110	$48,010	0.8
Pennsylvania	Scranton	230	$42,320	1.1
Pennsylvania	State College	60		1.4
Rhode Island	Providence	270	$65,770	0.6
South Carolina	Charleston	130	$57,900	0.5
South Carolina	Columbia	110	$39,100	0.4
South Carolina	Greenville	140	$48,140	0.6
South Carolina	Spartanburg	50	$45,360	0.5
South Dakota	Rapid City	40	$40,250	0.9
South Dakota	Sioux Falls	70	$42,390	0.6
Tennessee	Chattanooga	80	$39,960	0.4
Tennessee	Kingsport	70		0.8
Tennessee	Knoxville	170	$44,420	0.6
Tennessee	Memphis	150	$45,520	0.3
Tennessee	Nashville	630	$42,100	1
Texas	Austin	910	$52,810	1.4
Texas	Brownsville	60	$38,680	0.6
Texas	College Station	50	$48,130	0.9
Texas	Corpus Christi	40	$35,860	0.3
Texas	Dallas	1,160	$59,940	0.7
Texas	El Paso	70	$47,040	0.3
Texas	Fort Worth	540	$53,160	0.7
Texas	Houston	1,190	$57,100	0.5
Texas	Killeen	50	$32,280	0.5
Texas	Lubbock	40	$41,750	0.4
Texas	Mcallen	70	$41,800	0.4
Texas	San Antonio	430	$47,620	0.6
Texas	Tyler	40	$39,120	0.6
Texas	Waco	60	$46,490	0.8
Utah	Ogden	120	$51,100	0.7
Utah	Provo	160	$35,640	1.2
Utah	Salt Lake City	610	$49,380	1.2
Vermont	Burlington	120	$40,030	1.4
Virginia	Blacksburg	30		0.7
Virginia	Charlottesville	210	$50,870	2.9
Virginia	Lynchburg	40	$37,680	0.5
Virginia	Richmond	290	$52,160	0.6
Virginia	Roanoke	70	$59,600	0.6
Virginia	Virginia Beach	720	$40,040	1.1
Washington	Bellingham	80	$48,570	1.3
Washington	Bremerton	40	$57,010	0.6
Washington	Kennewick	40	$64,200	0.6
Washington	Olympia	40	$49,570	0.6
Washington	Seattle	1,020	$67,850	0.8
Washington	Spokane	110	$59,070	0.6
West Virginia	Charleston	70	$42,420	0.6
West Virginia	Huntington	30	$43,280	0.3
Wisconsin	Appleton	80	$46,760	0.9
Wisconsin	Green Bay	100	$40,590	0.7
Wisconsin	Madison	620	$43,740	2.2
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	580	$56,630	0.8
Wisconsin	Oshkosh	40	$53,700	0.6

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Copy Editors