THE 2006 WritersUA Salary Survey

Experience • Gender • Location • Training • Management • Organization Size • Satisfaction • Contractors/Part-Timers • Canada and Others • Survey Home

We received salary information from respondents in forty-three U.S. states plus the District of Columbia.

The difference in the cost of living from one geographic location to another is a major factor in compensation for every type of employment. Development of user assistance appears to be no exception with average annual salaries varying significantly depending on where we choose to live and work.

Two areas that host large concentrations of high technology companies, Northern California and Massachusetts, continue to provide the highest salaries. The Silicon Valley residents earn over 30% more than the overall national average salary of $70,632. We received a large number of responses from California that allowed us to split the state into north and south regions. (Southern California encompasses the three-digit ZIP Codes up to 938.)

A useful resource for comparing average salaries between regional areas is the Relocation Essentials Cost of Living Calculator. This calculator provides cost-of-living adjustments between most major American cities.

The states not displayed in the table did not receive enough representation to assemble reliable averages.