Sports Journalist

Sports Journalist Salary

$49K

$57K

$63.5K

$57,000

/year

$27.40

/hour

Sports Journalist Salary Comparison by Location

Nationwide

United States

$57,000

Columbus

Ohio

$55,056

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    How much does a Sports Journalist make?

    As of Sep 5, 2026, the average annual pay for a Sports Journalist in the United States is $57,000 a year.

    Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $27.40 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,096/week or $4,750/month.

    While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $63,500 and as low as $49,000, the majority of Sports Journalist salaries currently range between $53,500 (25th percentile) to $60,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $63,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Sports Journalist varies little (about 7000), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.

    A Sports Journalist in your area makes on average $55,056 per year, or $1,944 (3.411%) less than the national average annual salary of $57,000. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Sports Journalist salaries.

    To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Sports Journalist jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.

    Find your next high paying job as a Sports Journalist on ZipRecruiter today.

    What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Sports Journalist Jobs

    We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Sports Journalist job is above the national average. Topping the list is Berkeley, CA, , with Redwood City, CA, and Sitka, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Sitka, AK, beats the national average by $11,666 (20.5%), and Berkeley, CA, furthers that trend with another $12,792 (22.4%) above the $57,000 average.

    With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Sports Journalist appears to be exceedingly fruitful.

    Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 5% between Berkeley, CA, and Santa Cruz, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Sports Journalist role.

    City

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Berkeley, CA

    $69,792

    $33.55

    Redwood City, CA

    $69,788

    $33.55

    Sitka, AK

    $68,666

    $33.01

    San Jose, CA

    $67,485

    $32.44

    Santa Clara, CA

    $67,315

    $32.36

    San Francisco, CA

    $67,155

    $32.29

    Sunnyvale, CA

    $66,898

    $32.16

    Livermore, CA

    $66,860

    $32.14

    Daly City, CA

    $66,045

    $31.75

    Santa Cruz, CA

    $65,815

    $31.64

    What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Sports Journalist Jobs in the U.S.

    We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Sports Journalist category.

    For example Branded Content Producer jobs pay as much as $63,226 (110.9%) more than the average Sports Journalist salary of $57,000. If you're qualified, finding work as a Branded Content Producer may help you make more money than that of the average Sports Journalist position.

    Job Title

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Branded Content Producer

    $120,226

    $57.80

    Reality Tv Producer

    $105,209

    $50.58

    Digital News Producer

    $82,603

    $39.71

    Tv Show Writer

    $73,039

    $35.11

    Sport Reporter

    $48,562

    $23.35

    About Our Data

    ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.

    Infographic detailing Sports Journalist salary across the United States as of August 2026. Displays a bar chart with salary percentiles, a national average salary of $57,000 per year or $27.40 an hour, and a color-coded map showing state-by-state salary variations.