2027 Salary Guide · Technology
Technical writing is a compact profession: BLS counts about 46,400 technical writers, with a median wage of $90,390 in May 2025, or around $96,000 projected to 2027. The San Francisco Bay Area stands apart, with a median of $135,470, while most other large metros cluster between about $75,000 and $112,000. What a writer documents shapes pay as much as experience does.
About the data
The BLS Technical Writers occupation covers more than software documentation. O*NET's sample of reported titles includes Medical Writer, Engineering Writer, Grant Writer, Requirements Analyst and Technical Report Writer alongside Principal Technical Writer. A writer producing maintenance manuals for a manufacturer and one writing API references for a software company are in the same pay data.
Educational paths vary too. When O*NET asked people in the occupation what a new hire needs, 35% said an associate's degree and 33% said a bachelor's degree. Many writers come from an engineering, science or IT background rather than from a writing program.
That mix explains the wide range, from $57,440 at the 10th percentile to $145,270 at the 90th. The middle half, $70,880 to $115,510, is where most staff technical writers fall.
Pay distribution
BLS reports technical writers as their own occupation, so these figures apply to the title directly. The full range is shaded; the top tenth earned more than $145,270.
Typical for the Technical Writer title: $70,880 to $115,510 (25th to 75th percentile of Technical Writers)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $57,440 | $61,000 |
| 25th percentile | $70,880 | $75,500 |
| Median | $90,390 | $96,000 |
| 75th percentile | $115,510 | $123,000 |
| 90th percentile | $145,270 | $154,500 |
Local pay
The San Francisco Bay Area median, $135,470, is about $23,700 above Boston ($111,750) and New York ($111,050). Washington, DC has the most technical writers, about 2,370, reflecting government and contractor documentation work. Atlanta has the lowest median here at $75,140.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $135,470 +50% | $78,810 – $207,360 | 1,020 |
| Boston | $111,750 +24% | $70,040 – $165,670 | 1,590 |
| New York City | $111,050 +23% | $63,980 – $158,280 | 2,170 |
| Seattle | $107,580 +19% | $60,900 – $175,010 | 1,220 |
| Los Angeles | $104,000 +15% | $66,580 – $137,250 | 1,460 |
| Denver | $103,360 +14% | $71,460 – $165,880 | 800 |
| Hartford | $102,470 +13% | $63,800 – $138,230 | 250 |
| Baltimore | $102,140 +13% | $78,610 – $162,210 | 820 |
| San Diego | $101,750 +13% | $66,280 – $157,650 | 520 |
| Washington, DC | $99,910 +11% | $72,790 – $148,660 | 2,370 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh | $93,580 +4% | $65,630 – $157,750 | 630 |
| Detroit | $92,390 +2% | $62,050 – $127,070 | 560 |
| Philadelphia | $92,330 +2% | $54,870 – $165,350 | 710 |
| Providence | $92,240 +2% | $62,660 – $130,710 | 180 |
| Albany | $90,500 +0% | $58,170 – $150,790 | 80 |
| Chicago | $89,960 +-0% | $59,960 – $135,770 | 790 |
| Tampa | $89,210 -1% | $59,810 – $135,230 | 400 |
| Austin | $88,360 -2% | $57,200 – $132,300 | 650 |
| Houston | $87,360 -3% | $52,420 – $144,630 | 660 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $86,520 -4% | $51,530 – $125,790 | 1,030 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $86,340 -4% | $61,390 – $132,420 | 670 |
| Miami | $84,750 -6% | $54,990 – $140,580 | 560 |
| Phoenix | $83,480 -8% | $62,100 – $124,810 | 490 |
| Charlotte | $82,610 -9% | $62,940 – $128,910 | 560 |
| Portland | $81,540 -10% | $58,990 – $143,010 | 460 |
| Nashville | $79,550 -12% | $54,180 – $108,610 | 170 |
| Buffalo | $78,300 -13% | $56,990 – $136,150 | 80 |
| Atlanta | $75,140 -17% | $59,760 – $119,910 | 890 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
What moves pay
BLS does not split pay by specialty. These are the kinds of documentation work that most often sit in the upper half of the range, based on the skills they require.
Writing for developers means reading code, testing examples and working in docs-as-code tools such as Git. The concentration of software employers helps explain the Bay Area median.
Medical device, pharmaceutical and aerospace documentation must meet regulatory requirements, and errors carry real cost. Writers with that experience are hard to replace.
Washington, DC has the largest technical writer workforce in this guide. Contractor roles there may require a security clearance, which narrows the pool.
Senior writers who design whole documentation systems, including structure, style guides and help platforms, tend to move toward the 75th percentile and beyond.
Compare
Technical writers out-earn copywriters ($76,910 median) by about $13,500. UX designers ($104,000) and business analysts ($105,850), two common moves for writers, pay more at the median.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Writer | $90,390 | $96,000 | Slower than average |
| Copywriter | $76,910 | $82,000 | Little or no change |
| UX Designer | $104,000 | $110,500 | Faster than average |
| Business Analyst | $105,850 | $112,500 | Much faster than average |
For hiring managers
End users, developers, field technicians and regulators each need a different writer. State who will read the documentation.
A docs-as-code workflow with Git and Markdown, a component content system and a desktop publishing tool are very different jobs.
Writing samples show more than experience totals. If the work is confidential, ask for a redacted sample or a short exercise.
A product launch or documentation overhaul with a fixed scope often suits a contract writer, especially when long-term headcount is uncertain.
Outlook
BLS projects slower than average growth of 1% to 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,200 openings a year. With few openings, the jobs that do appear tend to draw many applicants, so subject-matter depth matters.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Technical Writers as a whole.
FAQ
Technical writers' median pay was $90,390 in May 2025, per BLS. The middle half earned $70,880 to $115,510, and the top tenth more than $145,270. With wage growth of 3.1% a year for two years, the 2027 planning median is about $96,000.
Entry-level technical writer pay is not published as its own BLS figure. The 10th percentile, $57,440, and 25th percentile, $70,880, bracket most entry-level technical writer salaries. Writers entering with a technical background, such as engineering or IT, can start higher.
Technical writer hourly figures come from dividing annual pay by 2,080 working hours. On that basis the $90,390 median equals about $43 an hour, and the 90th percentile of $145,270 about $70 an hour. Freelance and contract writers usually quote hourly and must cover their own benefits.
This guide does not break pay out by industry, but the metro data points that way. The San Francisco Bay Area, the largest software hub, has a technical writer median of $135,470, the highest of the 29 metros in this guide and about $45,000 above the national median.
Slowly. BLS projects growth of 1% to 2% from 2025 to 2035, slower than average, with about 3,200 openings a year. Most openings come from writers retiring or changing careers rather than from new positions.
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