- The total number of US newspaper employees was 133,740 as of 2020.
- The number of US newspaper employees has declined year-on-year since 2012.
- The total annual payroll of US newspaper employees was $6.60 billion as of 2020.
- The annual payroll of US newspaper employees has decreased by 29.34% since 2012.
- The average salary of a US newspaper employee was $49,349 as of 2020.
- The average salary of a US newspaper employee has increased by 2.78% per year on average since 2012.
- As of 2022, 27% of US journalists describe themselves as very satisfied with their job.
- A greater number (43%) described themselves as somewhat satisfied with their job.
- Despite this, 72% chose to describe the state of the news industry using negative terms.
- However, 77% say they would still enter the news industry all over again.
Number of US newspaper employees
- As of 2020, the total number of US newspaper employees was 133,740.
- This was a decrease of 3.44% from 2019’s 138,502.
- Over the given period, the number of US newspaper employees has declined year-on-year, which could be linked to a reduction in print sales.
- Since 2012, the number of US newspaper employees has declined by 42.20%.
- The number of US newspaper employees declined by 5.28% per year on average.
- As of 2020, there were 6,567 newspaper companies in the US.
- The average number of employees per newspaper company was 20.37.
- However, 43.23% of US newspaper companies had between 1 – 4 employees.
| Year | Number of employees | Change |
| 2020 | 133,740 | – 3.44% |
| 2019 | 138,502 | – 9.51% |
| 2018 | 153,060 | – 9.66% |
| 2017 | 169,421 | – 6.21% |
| 2016 | 180,637 | – 7.30% |
| 2015 | 194,870 | – 6.97% |
| 2014 | 209,464 | – 4.24% |
| 2013 | 218,736 | – 5.47% |
| 2012 | 231,384 |
A graph is given below to show the number of US newspaper employees:
Annual payroll of US newspaper employees
- As of 2020, the total annual payroll of US newspaper employees was $6.60 billion.
- This was a decrease of 2.94% from 2019’s $6.80 billion.
- Over the given period, the annual payroll of US newspaper employees has declined year-on-year.
- Since 2012, the annual payroll of US newspaper employees has decreased by 29.34%.
- The annual payroll of US newspaper employees has decreased by 3.67% per year on average.
| Year | Annual payroll | Change | Inflation-adjusted |
| 2020 | $6.60 billion | – 2.94% | $5.84 billion |
| 2019 | $6.80 billion | – 6.59% | $6.13 billion |
| 2018 | $7.28 billion | – 7.02% | $6.68 billion |
| 2017 | $7.83 billion | – 3.81% | $7.32 billion |
| 2016 | $8.14 billion | – 7.60% | $7.75 billion |
| 2015 | $8.81 billion | – 2.87% | $8.55 billion |
| 2014 | $9.07 billion | – 1.63% | $8.81 billion |
| 2013 | $9.22 billion | – 1.28% | $9.13 billion |
| 2012 | $9.34 billion | $9.34 billion |
A graph is given below to show the annual payroll of US newspaper employees:
Average US newspaper employee salary
- As of 2020, the average salary of a US newspaper employee was $49,349.
- This was an increase of 0.51% from 2019’s $49,097.
- Over the given period, average US newspaper employee salaries increased each year, with the exception of 2016.
- Since 2012, the average US newspaper employee salary has increased by 22.25%.
- The average US newspaper employee salary has increased by 2.78% per year on average.
| Year | Average salary | Change | Inflation-adjusted |
| 2020 | $49,349 | + 0.51% | $43,672 |
| 2019 | $49,097 | + 3.23% | $44,232 |
| 2018 | $47,563 | + 2.91% | $43,636 |
| 2017 | $46,216 | + 2.56% | $43,193 |
| 2016 | $45,063 | – 0.33% | $42,917 |
| 2015 | $45,210 | + 4.41% | $43,893 |
| 2014 | $43,301 | + 2.73% | $42,040 |
| 2013 | $42,151 | + 4.42% | $41,734 |
| 2012 | $40,366 | $40,366 |
A graph is given below to show average US newspaper employee salary:
Female employees in US newspaper companies
- As of 2022, 46% of employees in newspaper companies were female.
- This was 6.70% lower than the previous year.
- Over the given period, the number of female employees has exceeded 50% during 4 years out of 10.
- Since 2013, the percentage of female employees in newspaper companies has decreased by 1.50%.
- The percentage of female employees has decreased by 0.17% per year on average.
- 67% of US journalists say their news organization has sufficient employee diversity by gender.
| Year | Percentage | Change |
| 2022 | 46.00% | – 6.70% |
| 2021 | 52.70% | – 0.60% |
| 2020 | 53.30% | + 3.20% |
| 2019 | 50.10% | + 3.70% |
| 2018 | 46.40% | – 1.50% |
| 2017 | 47.90% | – 0.40% |
| 2016 | 48.30% | – 2.90% |
| 2015 | 51.20% | + 6.30% |
| 2014 | 44.90% | – 2.60% |
| 2013 | 47.50% |
A graph is given below to show the percentage of female employees in US newspaper companies:
Employees in US newspaper companies by race/ethnicity
- Since 2013, Black/Afro-American newspaper employees have increased by 2.70%.
- Hispanic/Latino newspaper employees have decreased by 2.70%.
- Asian newspaper employees have increased by 0.30%.
- White newspaper employees have decreased by 0.30%.
- 52% of US journalists say their news organization does not have sufficient employee diversity by race/ethnicity.
| Year | Asian | Black/Afro-American | Hispanic/Latino | White |
| 2022 | 3.70% | 10.20% | 7.30% | 78.80% |
| 2021 | 2.40% | 13.40% | 15.00% | 69.20% |
| 2020 | 2.00% | 7.30% | 7.60% | 83.10% |
| 2019 | 3.00% | 10.00% | 8.90% | 78.10% |
| 2018 | 4.20% | 6.90% | 8.40% | 80.50% |
| 2017 | 4.70% | 12.10% | 8.50% | 74.70% |
| 2016 | 6.60% | 6.90% | 13.80% | 72.70% |
| 2015 | 4.50% | 6.40% | 7.00% | 82.10% |
| 2014 | 2.90% | 6.70% | 10.60% | 79.80% |
| 2013 | 3.40% | 7.50% | 10.00% | 79.10% |
A graph is given below to show the percentage of employees in US newspaper companies by race/ethnicity:
Employees in US newspaper companies by median age
- As of 2022, the median age of a newspaper company employee was 49.20 years old.
- This was a 0.81% drop over the previous year.
- Over the given period, the median age of a newspaper company employee had an increasing trend.
- Since 2014, the median age of a newspaper company employee has increased by 5.81%.
- The median age of a newspaper company employee has increased by 0.73% per year on average.
- 58% of US journalists say their news organization has sufficient employee diversity by age.
| Year | Median age | Change |
| 2022 | 49.20 | – 0.81% |
| 2021 | 49.60 | + 7.83% |
| 2020 | 46.00 | – 3.16% |
| 2019 | 47.50 | – 3.26% |
| 2018 | 49.10 | + 5.82% |
| 2017 | 46.40 | – 2.32% |
| 2016 | 47.50 | – 0.41% |
| 2015 | 47.70 | + 2.58% |
| 2014 | 46.50 |
A graph is given below to show the median age of US newspaper company employees:
