Source: https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/united-states/ Title: SEO Specialist hourly rate in the United States | Deftridge Summary: SEO Specialist pay in the United States: median wage $48 an hour, typical part-time contractor rate $70. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. United States · **Updated November 3, 2026** # SEO Specialist hourly rate in United States The market median wage for an SEO Specialist in the United States is **$48.22 an hour**. A senior part-time contractor typically receives **$70 an hour** on Deftridge. **$70/hr** typical contractor rate, senior **$48.22/hr** median wage **$36-66** middle half of wages **$1,520** a month at 5 hours a week ## SEO Specialist wage percentiles in United States Employee wages for the role. The yellow row is the median. | Percentile | Per hour | 5 h a week, per month | Full time, per year | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 10th | $26.56 | $580 | $55,200 | | 25th | $35.71 | $770 | $74,300 | | Median | $48.22 | $1,040 | $100,300 | | 75th | $66.30 | $1,440 | $137,900 | | 90th | $95.17 | $2,060 | $198,000 | Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025; aged to October 2026; about 861,140 people employed in the role. [How rates are built](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/). ## United States in numbers What sets the United States apart for an SEO Specialist, from the same sources as the table above. - **$67.44** highest median wage, California - **$32.42** lowest median wage, West Virginia - **861,140** people employed in the role - **$101.15** median wage in the San Jose metro area, the highest in the country - **$35** country floor: no United States rate is published below it - Self-employment tax is 15.3%: 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare; the employer-equivalent half is deductible in working out adjusted gross income. [Source](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes) - For 2026 the first $184,500 of combined wages, tips and net self-employment earnings is subject to the Social Security part. [Source](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes) ## What contractors receive The Deftridge rate for an SEO Specialist in the United States by level and by format. The company adds 15% on top; you keep all of the rate shown. | Level | Per hour | Per month at 5 h/week | | --- | --- | --- | | Specialist | $60 | $1,300 | | Senior | $70 | $1,520 | | Manager | $85 | $1,840 | - Regular role **$70** - One-off task **$80** - Task bundle **$70** ## SEO Specialist pay by region in United States Typical contractor rate for a senior SEO Specialist, highest first; 9 of 51 places shown. | Place | Median wage | Contractor rate | | --- | --- | --- | | California | $67.44 | $100 | | Delaware | $63.59 | $90 | | New York | $59.62 | $85 | | Washington | $58.23 | $85 | | Massachusetts | $57.21 | $85 | | Colorado | $56.96 | $85 | | District of Columbia | $53.72 | $80 | | Rhode Island | $50.03 | $75 | | New Jersey | $49.97 | $70 | ## Highest-paying metro areas Median employee wage for the role in the metro area (BLS OEWS). - [San Jose $101.15/hr median wage · range $60-147](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/california/) - [San Francisco $90.76/hr median wage · range $58-124](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/california/) - [Seattle $63.23/hr median wage · range $48-85](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/washington/) - [New York City $63.19/hr median wage · range $47-83](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/new-york/) - [Denver $60.63/hr median wage · range $43-79](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/colorado/) - [Durham $58.90/hr median wage · range $41-85](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/north-carolina/) - [Boston $58.74/hr median wage · range $44-80](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/massachusetts/) - [Los Angeles $57.89/hr median wage · range $45-85](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/california/) - [San Diego $57.77/hr median wage · range $44-82](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/california/) - [Sacramento $57.75/hr median wage · range $44-77](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/california/) ## Questions about pay, fees and privacy The same rules apply to every task, so they live on two pages: [Pricing](https://deftridge.com/pricing/) explains the 15% fee, prepayment and when you are paid; [How it works](https://deftridge.com/how-it-works/) covers matching, what a company sees and side work next to a job. [SEO Specialist rates in every country](https://deftridge.com/rates/seo-specialist/) · [SEO Specialist jobs in United States](https://deftridge.com/jobs/seo-specialist/united-states/) · [Methodology](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/)