Highly Paid Anchors in the USA

News Anchor Salary: Top 5 Highly Paid Anchors in the USA

News Anchor jobs are becoming desirable in the US. The reason behind this is that people are more interested in earning potential in these jobs.


We all have come across gossips about popular news, channels, and the most famous news anchors who are always been in limelight. Also, you might be curious about their personal life and their earning. Likewise, you might have wondered about the news anchor salary range.

Due to having immense fame, you might have thought they would be earning very high.

Indeed, there are various high-paying anchors in the USA which inspire a lot of people to study journalism and join media. However, the fame of news anchors depends on something bigger than their experience and education.

They must have something different which draws viewers’ attention and increase their fan following.

Furthermore, as they work hard in every dimension of their field, the paycheck they receive is usually worthy. In the United States, news anchors earn an average of $38,647 per year. A news anchor salary typically starts from $14,000 per year goes to $95,000.

Television broadcasting has taken a massive hit throughout the digital world, as more news viewers choose to get their news from digital sources rather than flipping on newspapers and magazines.

The top news anchors in the USA who make a lot more money are mentioned below. To see the big names that make the most money year after year. The top five highly paid news anchors are:

  1. Sean Hannity
  2. Diane Sawyer
  3. Robin Roberts
  4. George Stephanopoulos
  5. Anderson Cooper

Sean Hannity

Hannity, a native New Yorker, began his broadcasting work in the mid-1980s in Georgia and Alabama. He also worked as the talk show host at the University of California, where he studied. Hannity was appointed by Fox News in 1996 to host "Hannity and Colmes," a political and news talk show that lasts until 2009.

Sean Hannity's current salary is $40 million at the broadcast network. He is a stalwart at Fox news being the host of “The Sean Hannity Show”. His valued net worth is $250 million. Indeed, knowing such a news anchor salary, you might be thinking to become a news anchor.

Hannity continues to host a weekly radio talk show and also his FOX television show, making him one of the most hardworking and wealthy news figures in the United States.

Diane Sawyer

In 1984, Diane Sawyer made history as the first female reporter for CBS's "60 Minutes," as well as a news anchor for CBS News (for "CBS Morning News"). Afterward, with ABC News, she continued as a moderate broadcasting career with daily interviews for "ABC World News." Furthermore, she worked as a news presenter from 2009 to 2014.

She married a Hollywood director and producer Mike Nichols, who passed away in 2014.

Diane Sawyer's current salary is $22 million. However, her net valued worth is $85 million.

Robin Roberts

Roberts, the co-host of ABC's show "Good Morning America," began his career in news broadcasting by presenting for ESPN while joining ABC in 2005.

At ABC, Roberts is paid an annual salary of $18 million. Roberts, a cancer survivor, is a regular speaker on the topic of illness and rehabilitation, and her work at ABC has won her four Emmy awards. 

George Stephanopoulos

Stephanopoulos, a senior staffer to President Bill Clinton, makes $15 million a year as the co-anchor on ABC's "Good Morning America" and even a frequent anchor on "ABC World News Tonight." He has a net worth of $40 million, the majority of which came from his tenure at ABC.

Stephanopoulos worked also in the Clinton administration until 1996 when he left to write a best-selling book about his time as a senior advisor to President Clinton. Until 2002, he has worked as a news reporter and anchor for ABC News.

George Stephanopoulos's current salary is $15 million.

Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper is the child of Gloria Vanderbilt, who died of cancer at the age of 95. He is the long-time host of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."

Cooper's annual salary has been questioned as a consequence of his $1.5 billion inherits from his family inheritance (his father died in 1978). Cooper's annual salary was reported to be around $100 million prior to his inheritance.
Given that he was the sole beneficiary of his mother's wealth, Cooper's net worth is predicted to skyrocket to over $1 billion once his inheritance is paid out.

Anderson Cooper's current salary is $12 million.

Final Words

News anchoring apart from being a famous profession is a highly paid profession as well. As all the public figures discussed above are earning a lot in their careers. However, in the USA new anchors face a lot of hurdles as well to reach this point. Likewise, these top 5 highly paid news anchor salary is indeed high but they are the real warriors in their field.

Thereby, if you aspire to be a high-paying anchor, you can but prepare yourself to meet the challenging demands of this career.

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