Translator salary
What a translator actually earns, from 94 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-09-06.
Switch the market above to see translator pay in the 2 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
A translator earns a blended US median near 70,009 dollars, with the typical middle running from 49,195 dollars to 89,827 dollars. The official OEWS median is 59,440 dollars, under the posted figure, because the advertised roles skew senior or well-funded. The official trend has moved up about 15 percent since 2019. Demand is rated high, and 16% of postings are fully remote. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is sound designer, at 34 percent coverage; the instrument maps the rest.
Open translator roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
International Audio/Video Remote Armenian Interpreter at Language Services AssociatesAnywhere · Remote1d agoApply
International Audio/Video Remote Afghani/Dari Interpreter at Language Services AssociatesAnywhere · Remote1d agoApply
Localization Manager, Italian at AirbnbMilan, Italy5d agoApply
Ukrainian:Interpreter at One World Global ServicesAustralia · Remote5d agoApply
Russian: Interpreter Georgia at One World Global ServicesGeorgia · Remote5d agoApply
EU Spanish Linguist / Translator - Gaming at Pole To Win InternationalPortugal · Remote6d agoApply
By country
- United Kingdom$35,181$40,582$47,832
- United States$49,195$70,009$89,827
Switzerland · official wage bands
median CHF 9'122/month
Swiss postings do not state pay, so these are not posted salaries: they are the federal wage survey (Lohnstrukturerhebung 2024) for the ISCO group 26 Juristen, Sozialwissenschaftler und Kulturberufe: standardized gross monthly, full-time, 13th salary included pro rata. The band covers the whole occupation group, which is coarser than this occupation alone.
Annual ≈ CHF 109'464 at the median. Source: Bundesamt für Statistik, LSE 2024.
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- New York$84,650
- District of Columbia$81,140
- Virginia$74,250
- California$73,510
- Alaska$59,280
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Related salaries
- Medical Scribe salary$44,340 median
Quick answers
How much does a translator make?
The blended US median is about 70,009 dollars, with a typical range from 49,195 dollars to 89,827 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 59,440 dollars.
Is translator a good career in 2026?
Demand for the role is rated high in our July 2026 corpus, with 16% of postings fully remote. The pay is shown above by seniority and by country.
What can a translator move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is sound designer, at 34 percent skill coverage. Run the instrument for the full set of reachable moves.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 27-3091. Live corpus 94 observations, 2026-09-06. Definitions in the glossary.