Labor Relations Specialists salary
SOC 13-1075 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $50,490
- 25th
- $71,920
- Median
- $95,420
- 75th
- $123,420
- 90th
- $156,180
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Bachelor's degree
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- None
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where labor relations specialists earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $118,370 | 108.8 | 3,700 | 2.07× |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $115,600 | 109.9 | 160 | 0.55× |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $111,260 | 105.8 | 1,660 | 1.10× |
| 4 | California | $105,810 | 110.7 | 8,830 | 1.16× |
| 5 | Illinois | $104,180 | 100.0 | 3,670 | 1.44× |
| 6 | Washington | $104,100 | 107.0 | 2,760 | 1.86× |
| 7 | North Dakota | $101,220 | 89.0 | 90 | 0.51× |
| 8 | Minnesota | $100,760 | 98.6 | 1,710 | 1.39× |
| 9 | New York | $100,500 | 107.9 | 6,860 | 1.70× |
| 10 | Virginia | $98,730 | 101.1 | 990 | 0.58× |
| 11 | Delaware | $97,390 | 99.8 | 280 | 1.36× |
| 12 | Arizona | $97,070 | 100.7 | 790 | 0.59× |
| 13 | Maine | $96,680 | 97.0 | 210 | 0.80× |
| 14 | Wisconsin | $95,750 | 94.1 | 1,690 | 1.38× |
| 15 | Maryland | $94,030 | 105.0 | 890 | 0.77× |
| 16 | Missouri | $93,840 | 90.8 | 1,190 | 0.97× |
| 17 | Idaho | $93,110 | 95.5 | 190 | 0.53× |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | $91,320 | 97.6 | 3,470 | 1.37× |
| 19 | Rhode Island | $88,030 | 102.3 | 410 | 1.95× |
| 20 | West Virginia | $88,020 | 89.5 | 420 | 1.43× |
| 21 | Wyoming | $87,310 | 92.7 | 60 | 0.49× |
| 22 | Colorado | $87,150 | 103.1 | 470 | 0.39× |
| 23 | North Carolina | $86,270 | 94.3 | 690 | 0.33× |
| 24 | Vermont | $85,870 | 98.0 | 120 | 0.94× |
| 25 | New Hampshire | $84,780 | 104.2 | 150 | 0.53× |
| 26 | New Mexico | $83,770 | 92.2 | 120 | 0.34× |
| 27 | Kansas | $82,750 | 90.1 | 370 | 0.61× |
| 28 | Nebraska | $81,910 | 90.1 | 270 | 0.64× |
| 29 | Florida | $81,700 | 103.4 | 1,970 | 0.47× |
| 30 | Georgia | $81,480 | 96.3 | 920 | 0.45× |
| 31 | Oregon | $80,490 | 103.4 | 1,210 | 1.48× |
| 32 | Ohio | $80,150 | 92.8 | 4,100 | 1.77× |
| 33 | Texas | $79,640 | 97.1 | 2,590 | 0.44× |
| 34 | Connecticut | $79,620 | 103.6 | 1,240 | 1.76× |
| 35 | Mississippi | $79,360 | 87.0 | 200 | 0.41× |
| 36 | Iowa | $79,140 | 87.8 | 610 | 0.95× |
| 37 | Louisiana | $78,110 | 88.2 | 170 | 0.20× |
| 38 | South Carolina | $78,050 | 93.7 | 340 | 0.36× |
| 39 | Alaska | $77,870 | 102.4 | 380 | 2.77× |
| 40 | Hawaii | $77,310 | 110.0 | 510 | 1.94× |
| 41 | Nevada | $77,240 | 100.0 | 610 | 0.95× |
| 42 | Indiana | $77,190 | 93.3 | 2,600 | 1.95× |
| 43 | Tennessee | $76,930 | 91.9 | 560 | 0.41× |
| 44 | Michigan | $73,760 | 96.2 | 2,430 | 1.33× |
| 45 | Kentucky | $73,550 | 90.2 | 640 | 0.76× |
| 46 | Montana | $70,360 | 94.6 | 160 | 0.74× |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $62,400 | 87.8 | 250 | 0.35× |
| 48 | Arkansas | $62,070 | 86.9 | 180 | 0.34× |
| 49 | Utah | $61,190 | 98.9 | 250 | 0.34× |
| 50 | South Dakota | $57,900 | 88.6 | 100 | 0.53× |
| 51 | Alabama | $48,120 | 88.8 | 590 | 0.67× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where labor relations specialists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for labor relations specialists
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $133,270 | 110.4 | 510 | 1.08× |
| 2 | Vallejo, CA | $131,680 | 108.5 | 100 | 1.66× |
| 3 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $128,320 | 109.9 | 40 | 0.96× |
| 4 | Bellingham, WA | $126,160 | 103.3 | 30 | 0.88× |
| 5 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $124,400 | 115.6 | 2,000 | 2.02× |
| 6 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $119,200 | 111.1 | 1,990 | 2.29× |
| 7 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $118,520 | 108.3 | 1,280 | 1.13× |
| 8 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $115,940 | 100.0 | 160 | 1.00× |
| 9 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $112,740 | 100.1 | 100 | 1.92× |
| 10 | Worcester, MA | $112,230 | 102.5 | 140 | 0.93× |
| 11 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $108,760 | 108.8 | 60 | 0.74× |
| 12 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $107,470 | 112.6 | 6,930 | 1.75× |
| 13 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $106,530 | 103.2 | 380 | 3.81× |
| 14 | Visalia, CA | $105,850 | 99.8 | 40 | 0.50× |
| 15 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $105,250 | 96.9 | 510 | 1.50× |
| 16 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $105,210 | 108.9 | 790 | 0.60× |
| 17 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | $105,210 | 93.6 | 120 | 1.09× |
| 18 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $103,790 | 106.7 | 930 | 2.06× |
| 19 | Decatur, IL | $103,780 | 88.4 | 70 | 3.51× |
| 20 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $103,570 | 103.6 | 3,090 | 1.64× |
| 21 | Rochester, MN | $103,540 | 90.8 | 50 | 0.88× |
| 22 | State College, PA | $103,460 | 96.8 | 30 | 1.16× |
| 23 | Eau Claire, WI | $103,230 | 92.8 | 70 | 1.95× |
| 24 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $102,980 | 113.6 | 3,300 | 1.26× |
| 25 | Peoria, IL | $102,910 | 91.2 | 100 | 1.48× |
| 26 | Erie, PA | $102,870 | 91.0 | 50 | 0.95× |
| 27 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $102,230 | 106.4 | 470 | 0.66× |
| 28 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $102,070 | 103.7 | 150 | 2.81× |
| 29 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $102,010 | 95.1 | 750 | 1.35× |
| 30 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $102,000 | 111.9 | 410 | 0.64× |
| 31 | Springfield, IL | $101,980 | 92.7 | 240 | 5.64× |
| 32 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $101,970 | 100.9 | 280 | 0.47× |
| 33 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $101,750 | 98.9 | 160 | 2.31× |
| 34 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $101,660 | 107.8 | 30 | 0.35× |
| 35 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $101,270 | 104.8 | 1,300 | 1.60× |
| 36 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $101,250 | 109.4 | 60 | 1.85× |
| 37 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $101,050 | 100.9 | 140 | 1.01× |
| 38 | Salinas, CA | $100,810 | 109.0 | 50 | 0.58× |
| 39 | Duluth, MN-WI | $100,520 | 88.8 | 170 | 3.28× |
| 40 | Rockford, IL | $100,480 | 92.2 | 50 | 0.90× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where labor relations specialists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other$83,050
- Project Management Specialists$102,320
- Human Resources Specialists$75,940
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists$78,760
- Management Analysts$101,860
- Buyers and Purchasing Agents$77,710
- Training and Development Specialists$69,280
- Compliance Officers$80,730