Pay · 43-9031
Desktop Publishers earn $55,290 a year at the midpoint
A small field — roughly 3,350 people nationwide — with a midpoint of $55,290. Pay runs from about $35,680 at the low end to $96,170 at the top, per the 2025 federal survey.
National figures for desktop publishers, 43-9031, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Desktop publisher earnings, from starting pay to the top 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
The survey has no complete figures for that job — pick the closest title from the list.
An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
Desktop publisher pay rate, from hourly to yearly
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Desktop publisher wages by state
The 21 states where the most people do this work, of 27 with a published figure: their medians range by 1.82 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $71,930 | $42,080 | $42,080 — $115,410 | 320 |
| Maryland | $69,820 | $45,090 | $45,090 — $89,750 | 140 |
| New Jersey | $63,020 | $49,760 | $49,760 — $99,470 | 100 |
| South Carolina | $62,320 | $49,890 | $49,890 — $94,500 | 40 |
| Illinois | $61,350 | $44,480 | $44,480 — $79,620 | 150 |
| Massachusetts | $61,170 | $46,320 | $46,320 — $90,020 | 80 |
| Texas | $57,760 | $33,480 | $33,480 — $72,180 | 270 |
| New York | $56,660 | $34,320 | $34,320 — $108,860 | 350 |
| Minnesota | $54,930 | $46,910 | $46,910 — $80,590 | 90 |
| Vermont | $53,550 | $30,020 | $30,020 — $63,330 | 50 |
| Ohio | $53,380 | $47,710 | $47,710 — $69,000 | 60 |
| Florida | $52,720 | $42,220 | $42,220 — $73,890 | 150 |
| Oregon | $50,650 | $38,200 | $38,200 — $85,170 | 90 |
| Indiana | $49,070 | $36,300 | $36,300 — $59,750 | 130 |
| Louisiana | $47,130 | $21,960 | $21,960 — $84,430 | 40 |
| Oklahoma | $46,040 | $35,930 | $35,930 — $71,350 | 40 |
| Wisconsin | $46,010 | $25,310 | $25,310 — $60,120 | 40 |
| Kentucky | $45,760 | $19,200 | $19,200 — $58,510 | 40 |
| Michigan | $45,300 | $41,000 | $41,000 — $63,400 | 40 |
| North Carolina | $43,700 | $38,130 | $38,130 — $84,630 | 80 |
| Georgia | $39,460 | $34,970 | $34,970 — $112,350 | 230 |
No estimate is published for 3 states: the survey withholds a figure when too few employers report it. Nothing has been filled in for them.
Number 461 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 41% of the occupations in the survey.
- 459 Roofers $55,440
- 460 Choreographers $55,310
- 461 Desktop Publishers $55,290
- 462 Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health $55,090
- 463 Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers $55,010
Resumes for desktop publishers
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Operated desktop publishing software and equipment to design, lay out, and produce camera-ready copy.
- Positioned text and art elements from a variety of databases in a visually appealing way to design print or web pages, using knowledge of type styles and size and layout patterns.
- Checked preliminary and final proofs for errors and made necessary corrections.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Examples
Resumes written for this kind of job.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
- Desktop Publisher Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Word Processor Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Data Entry Clerk Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Insurance Claims Clerk Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Mail Clerk Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Office Clerk Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Office Machine Operator Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Proofreader Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Statistical Assistant Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Administrative Support Specialist Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Administrative Assistant Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Medical Secretary Resume Template Office & Administrative
What people often ask
What is a desktop publisher’s yearly income?
A desktop publisher makes a median of $55,290 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $43,730 and $73,840.
What is a desktop publisher’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $26.58 an hour; the average is $61,970 a year.
What is the starting pay for a desktop publisher?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $43,730 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $35,680.
Which state pays desktop publishers the most?
Colorado, with a median of $77,750 a year.
How many people work as desktop publishers?
About 3,350 in the United States — number 461 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays roughly the same
Median pay within $200 of what desktop publishers earn — $55,290 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $20 more Choreographers $55,310median a year 10th percentile: $34,090 90th percentile: $138,630
- $150 more Roofers $55,440median a year 10th percentile: $37,460 90th percentile: $81,720
- $200 more Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators $55,490median a year 10th percentile: $31,630 90th percentile: $144,210