PR industry's size worldwide 2020-2023

In 2023, the combined fee income of the leading public relations (PR) agencies worldwide amounted to approximately 17.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 0.7 percent from 17.1 billion dollars a year earlier. According to the same source, PR firms in the United States alone accounted for around 11.55 billion dollars of the global 2023 figure.

PR market leaders

In 2023, the five leading PR agencies by fee income worldwide were based in the U.S. They were Edelman, Weber Shandwick, BCW, FleishmanHillard, and Real Chemistry, whose combined annual fee incomes amounted to nearly 3.9 billion dollars that year. The global top 10 also included organizations headquartered in Japan (Vector Inc.), the United Kingdom (Brunswick), and Germany (Media Consulta).

PR expenses in the U.S.

Between 2012 and 2022, U.S. PR agencies' expenditures collectively grew by over 90 percent, amounting to nearly 15.5 billion dollars in the latter year. Throughout that decade, the total spending decreased only once – in 2017 – albeit by less than three percent. The predominantly consistent expansion indicated a continuous increase.