Proofreading Salary
$28.5K - $34K
9% of jobs
$34K - $39.5K
12% of jobs
$41.4K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$39.5K - $45K
9% of jobs
$45K - $50.5K
7% of jobs
The median wage is $55K / yr.
$50.5K - $56K
15% of jobs
$56K - $61.5K
16% of jobs
$65.7K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$61.5K - $67K
8% of jobs
$67K - $72.5K
9% of jobs
$72.5K - $78K
7% of jobs
$78K - $83.5K
3% of jobs
$83.5K - $89K
4% of jobs
$28.5K
$56.5K
$91K
$57,520
/year
$27.65
/hour
Proofreading Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$57,520
Columbus
Ohio
$55,558
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How much does a Proofreading make?
As of Aug 13, 2026, the average annual pay for a Proofreading in the United States is $57,520 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $27.65 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,106/week or $4,793/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $91,000 and as low as $28,500, the majority of Proofreading salaries currently range between $42,500 (25th percentile) to $70,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $84,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Proofreading varies greatly (by as much as 27500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Proofreading in your area makes on average $55,558 per year, or $1,962 (3.411%) less than the national average annual salary of $57,520. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Proofreading salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Proofreading jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Proofreading on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Proofreading Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Proofreading job is above the national average. Topping the list is San Mateo County, CA, , with Nome, AK, and Chatham, NJ, close behind in the second and third positions. Chatham, NJ, beats the national average by $13,714 (23.8%), and San Mateo County, CA, furthers that trend with another $27,147 (47.2%) above the $57,520 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Proofreading appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
However, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies modestly at 22% between San Mateo County, CA, and Santa Clara, CA, , suggesting it may be difficult to see much positive wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may help determine the balance between location and salary for a Proofreading role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
San Mateo County, CA | $84,667 | $40.71 |
Nome, AK | $71,353 | $34.30 |
Chatham, NJ | $71,234 | $34.25 |
Redwood City, CA | $70,424 | $33.86 |
Sitka, AK | $69,293 | $33.31 |
Milford, CT | $69,076 | $33.21 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $68,432 | $32.90 |
San Francisco, CA | $67,768 | $32.58 |
Schiller Park, IL | $67,738 | $32.57 |
Santa Clara, CA | $67,553 | $32.48 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Proofreading Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Proofreading category.
For example Federal Court Reporter jobs pay as much as $23,030 (40.0%) more than the average Proofreading salary of $57,520. If you're qualified, finding work as a Federal Court Reporter may help you make more money than that of the average Proofreading position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Federal Court Reporter | $80,550 | $38.73 |
Transactional Paralegal | $76,249 | $36.66 |
Insurance Defense Paralegal | $66,245 | $31.85 |
Legal Research | $57,999 | $27.88 |
Environmental Legal Assistant | $48,215 | $23.18 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
