Becoming a Copy Editor via Online Education?

At the very least, online education can help you lay a foundation and/or open up alternate career paths. Ashford University, one of the highest ranking online schools, is a US school (accredited) offering journalism courses to train individuals to become top-notch journalists, media journalists, investigative journalists, broadcast journalists, photojournalists, newspaper photojournalists, etc. Currently, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics there are 105,040 people employed as editors alone in America, and their average annual salary is $58,440. Proofreaders and copy markers make on average $32,500 per year and there are about 14,050 of them employed today. Colleges and universities like Ashford University that provide online education are successfully launching workers into this field.

Copy Editor Salary Information

Category: Editors

Total # Employed in the US 105,040
Average Hourly Wage: $28.1/hr
Hourly Wage Range
PERCENTILE
10%25%50%75%90%
$13.67 $17.95 $24.42 $34.18 $46.81
Average Yearly Salary $58,440
Yearly Salary Range
PERCENTILE
10%25%50%75%90%
$28,430 $37,340 $50,800 $71,090 $97,360
Employment Demographics
% OF WORKERS WITH
< High School Diploma High School Diploma Some College Associate Degree Bachelor Degree Master Degree Doctoral Degree
0.7% 3.9% 10.9% 4.0% 55.6% 20.3% 4.6%
Editors — WAGES BY STATE, SORTED BY SALARY
STATEAverage Hourly WageAverage Annual Salary
Oklahoma $37.05/hr $77,060
Virginia $33.34/hr $69,340
Florida $32.61/hr $67,830
Hawaii $31.23/hr $64,960
Delaware $30.36/hr $63,140
Missouri $29.63/hr $61,640
District of Columbia $29.59/hr $61,540
North Dakota $29.24/hr $60,830
Colorado $29.2/hr $60,740
Idaho $28.37/hr $59,020
Connecticut $27.16/hr $56,490
North Carolina $27.1/hr $56,360
Mississippi $27.02/hr $56,190
Kansas $26.17/hr $54,430
New York $25.46/hr $52,950
Oregon $25.4/hr $52,830
Utah $25.37/hr $52,780
Alaska $25.01/hr $52,020
Michigan $24.93/hr $51,860
Ohio $24.48/hr $50,920
Wyoming $24.16/hr $50,250
Guam $24.07/hr $50,060
Indiana $24.05/hr $50,020
Arkansas $24.04/hr $50,010
New Hampshire $23.55/hr $48,990
Tennessee $23.5/hr $48,880
Nebraska $23.43/hr $48,730
Kentucky $22.89/hr $47,610
Montana $22.88/hr $47,590
Louisiana $22.8/hr $47,420
Washington $22.33/hr $46,450
West Virginia $22.29/hr $46,360
South Carolina $21.98/hr $45,710
Maryland $21.21/hr $44,120
Wisconsin $20.94/hr $43,560
Puerto Rico $20.89/hr $43,450
Alabama $20.75/hr $43,160
California $20.27/hr $42,160
Massachusetts $20.12/hr $41,850
Maine $19.9/hr $41,390
New Jersey $19.49/hr $40,530
New Mexico $19.1/hr $39,720
Pennsylvania $18.79/hr $39,070
Iowa $18.2/hr $37,850
Nevada $18.14/hr $37,730
South Dakota $17.26/hr $35,900


Category: Proofreaders and copy markers

Total # Employed in the US 14,050
Average Hourly Wage: $15.63/hr
Hourly Wage Range
PERCENTILE
10%25%50%75%90%
$8.56 $11.07 $14.76 $19.38 $24.13
Average Yearly Salary $32,500
Yearly Salary Range
PERCENTILE
10%25%50%75%90%
$17,810 $23,020 $30,700 $40,320 $50,190
Employment Demographics
% OF WORKERS WITH
< High School Diploma High School Diploma Some College Associate Degree Bachelor Degree Master Degree Doctoral Degree
3.0% 19.2% 20.9% 7.0% 35.3% 13.0% 1.6%
Proofreaders and copy markers — WAGES BY STATE, SORTED BY SALARY
STATEAverage Hourly WageAverage Annual Salary
Missouri $19.63/hr $40,830
Virginia $19.02/hr $39,560
Kansas $18.81/hr $39,130
Florida $18.15/hr $37,760
Colorado $17.93/hr $37,280
Mississippi $17.34/hr $36,060
Oklahoma $17.27/hr $35,930
North Dakota $17.13/hr $35,630
Connecticut $16.85/hr $35,050
Guam $16.22/hr $33,750
Oregon $15.84/hr $32,940
New York $15.78/hr $32,810
Puerto Rico $15.41/hr $32,060
Utah $15.32/hr $31,870
Montana $15.28/hr $31,780
Washington $15.17/hr $31,560
Delaware $15.1/hr $31,420
Alabama $15.09/hr $31,390
North Carolina $14.99/hr $31,180
Nebraska $14.98/hr $31,160
Nevada $14.69/hr $30,550
South Carolina $14.6/hr $30,370
Hawaii $14.53/hr $30,230
Maryland $14.4/hr $29,940
Tennessee $14.3/hr $29,740
Wisconsin $14.29/hr $29,720
New Hampshire $14.15/hr $29,430
Michigan $13.8/hr $28,710
Louisiana $13.71/hr $28,520
Idaho $13.65/hr $28,400
Wyoming $13.29/hr $27,650
Kentucky $13.09/hr $27,230
Iowa $12.97/hr $26,990
New Mexico $12.21/hr $25,400
California $12.2/hr $25,370
Maine $12.13/hr $25,220
South Dakota $11.92/hr $24,790
Arkansas $10.35/hr $21,520
Pennsylvania $9.37/hr $19,480


Journalism Programs by State & City