Public Relations Managers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$86,853
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$27,547
24.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,904
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$114,400
Kept after tax
$86,853
Worth in national money
$85,904
State rank
33
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona is among the lower-paying states for public relations managers. The middle earner takes $114,400, ranking 33 of 48 states — about 22.13% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, public relations managers ranks 36 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $114,400 the take-home is $86,853, which is worth about $85,904 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $131,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona ranks 33 of 48 for public relations managers, with a median of $114,400 — about 22.13% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, public relations managers sits 36 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for public relations managers on its $114,400 median: $86,853 retained after tax becomes $85,904 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $131,310 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Public Relations Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $80,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $114,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $213,370 |
| This salary | $114,400 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $86,853 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $89,310 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,003 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $110,907 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,292 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $114,400. The published range is $80,000 up to $213,370, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $86,853 take-home in Arizona comes from $114,400. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 36 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $85,904 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 36.
- Reported values are medians; for public relations managers in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $80,000 to $213,370. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $86,853, from $114,400, assumes a single Arizona filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 36 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $85,904, worked from $114,400, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arizona address, on work sitting at 36 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $131,310 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $80,000 and the top tenth $213,370 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $85,904 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $86,853.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arizona is $131,310. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($80,000) and the ninetieth ($213,370) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $85,904 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $86,853 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.