BLS OEWS, May 2025

Copywriter salary in Philadelphia, PA

What copywriters are paid in Philadelphia, PA, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with how your own pay compares. Figures from the BLS OEWS release dated May 2025.

Median annual pay

$84,130

Middle half earn

$60,320 to $102,480

People in this job here

560

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Writers and Authors, Philadelphia, PA, annual pay, May 2025

10th percentile
$52,080
25th percentile
$60,320
Median
$84,130
75th percentile
$102,480
90th percentile
$182,160

BLS counts copywriters within Writers and Authors.

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 27-3043. Percentiles across everyone employed in the occupation, not experience levels.

At a glance

How Philadelphia, PA compares

  • The median here is 9% above the national median of $76,910.
  • Philadelphia, PA ranks 8th for median pay among the 45 largest US metros with published figures for this occupation.
  • About 560 people work in this occupation here, roughly 1 in every 5,175 jobs in the metro.
  • Pay varies widely within the job: the 90th percentile earns 3.5 times the 10th.

Worked from BLS OEWS, May 2025. Not adjusted for the cost of living.

Philadelphia, PA against the national figures
PercentilePhiladelphia, PANational
10th percentile$52,080$44,310
25th percentile$60,320$58,230
Median$84,130$76,910
75th percentile$102,480$101,950
90th percentile$182,160$139,870

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 27-3043. National page for copywriters

By metro

Other metros for copywriters

Median annual pay in the largest US metros where BLS published figures for this occupation, highest first, May 2025.

Medians from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Skills

What employers look for in a copywriter

The skills our copywriter resume example leads with, written for US employers.

  • Conversion copywriting
  • Landing pages
  • Email sequences
  • Ad copy
  • A/B testing
  • Brand voice
  • Messaging frameworks
  • Customer research
  • Value propositions
  • Direct response

See the full copywriter resume example, with bullets and keywords.

Negotiating

Using these numbers

Below $60,320 puts you in the bottom quarter for copywriters in Philadelphia, PA. That is worth raising, with evidence of what you deliver.

The median, $84,130, is the middle of the market, not a ceiling. An offer at or near it is a fair starting point to negotiate from.

Asking for $102,480 or more puts you in the top quarter, so it needs a reason an employer will accept: a wider scope, a competing offer, or a skill that is hard to hire for.

Percentiles are not experience levels. They describe everyone doing the job, so a senior hire can sit at the median of a market full of senior people.

About the numbers

What these figures are

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and these figures are from the release dated May 2025. They cover wage and salary workers in Writers and Authors, a category that is often broader than a single job title. Self-employed people are not included.

They are base pay: bonuses, equity and overtime are not included, and they are not adjusted for the cost of living. The metro is Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD as BLS defines it.

Questions

Questions about copywriter pay in Philadelphia, PA

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