In United States of America, published rates for a journalist start at $50,000 a year on staff.
What journalist work in United States of America pays, according to the documents that set rates there, each quoted as printed. How the pay guide works →
What the published rates say
Year
What journalist job ads in United States of America offer
Open marketWhat employers offered in public job ads over the last 12 months, from 155 job ads with pay. These figures come from the open job market, not from journalist.net, and we do not check them.
Each published rate as a day's pay
US$ a day at the ECB rate for the month. A month is 12 payments over 260 working days, or 13 or 14 where the agreement says so; a year is 260 days; a shift counts as a day.
| Type of work | What | As printed | US$ a day | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On staff | On hire | $50,000 a year | $192.30 | NewsGuild of New York · Collective agreement · 23 Mar 2025 |
| On staff | Minimum salary, full-time employees | $50,700 a year | $195 | TNG-CWA · Collective agreement |
| On staff | After 5 years' service | $55,000 a year | $211.53 | NewsGuild of New York · Collective agreement · 23 Mar 2025 |
| On staff | Minimum salary at ratification | $60,000 a year | $230.76 | NewsGuild of New York · Collective agreement · 3 Nov 2025 |
| On staff | After 10 years' service | $63,000 a year | $242.30 | NewsGuild of New York · Collective agreement · 23 Mar 2025 |
| On staff | Lowest minimum salary in the agreement | $65,000 a year | $250 | SAG-AFTRA · Collective agreement |
Every figure, as printed
Open a row for the wording in the document and its dates.
no less than $50,000 upon hireDocumentRecord Guild first contract with Gannett (The Record, Daily Record, New Jersey Herald), 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn force · 23 Mar 2025 Contract text not public; figures from the union's own announcement
$55,000 upon completing 5 yearsDocumentRecord Guild first contract with Gannett (The Record, Daily Record, New Jersey Herald), 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn force · 23 Mar 2025 Contract text not public; figures from the union's own announcement
$63,000 upon completing 10 yearsDocumentRecord Guild first contract with Gannett (The Record, Daily Record, New Jersey Herald), 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn force · 23 Mar 2025 Contract text not public; figures from the union's own announcement
a minimum salary of $50,700 for full-time employeesDocumentLNP | LancasterOnline and WITF first contract: minimum salary, Nov 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn force
no minimum salary within the agreement falls below $65,000DocumentOregon Public Broadcasting first SAG-AFTRA contract: salary floor, Apr 2026 · Collective agreement StatusIn force
$63,000 by May 2026DocumentDaily News (New York) first contract: salary minimums, tentative agreement of 3 Nov 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn talks · 1 May 2026
Minimum salaries of $60,000 at ratificationDocumentDaily News (New York) first contract: salary minimums, tentative agreement of 3 Nov 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn talks · 3 Nov 2025
Questions people ask
In United States of America, published rates for a journalist start at $50,000 a year on staff.
NewsGuild of New York, SAG-AFTRA, TNG-CWA, in 4 documents.
$125,000 a year in the middle of the ads from the last 12 months: middle half $82,750–$162,500 · 119 ads.
A journalist's minimum nearby
Lowest staff minimum in each country's agreements, as US$ a day.
About this data. These rates are compiled from publicly available sources and quoted as printed, with their date. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any figure. For information only: Journalist.net does not recommend or set rates. How we count