Music Directors and Composers salary

SOC 27-2041 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$73,710

per year, nationally

Middle half

$53,110–$104,090

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

12,540

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-0.3%

4,300 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$39,880$165,760

10th: $39,880
25th: $53,110
Median: $73,710
75th: $104,090
90th: $165,760

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree
Related work experience: Less than 5 years
On-the-job training: None

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where music directors and composers earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	New Jersey	$122,750	108.8	210	0.62×
2	California	$93,090	110.7	2,510	1.71×
3	Colorado	$88,460	103.1	160	0.69×
4	District of Columbia	$84,040	109.9	140	2.50×
5	New York	$82,930	107.9	2,370	3.03×
6	Utah	$82,570	98.9	150	1.06×
7	Tennessee	$79,640	91.9	400	1.49×
8	Wisconsin	$78,690	94.1	200	0.86×
9	Massachusetts	$78,620	105.8	340	1.16×
10	Indiana	$77,270	93.3	200	0.78×
11	Connecticut	$77,070	103.6	120	0.90×
12	Washington	$75,060	107.0	260	0.91×
13	Hawaii	$74,570	110.0	90	1.74×
14	Georgia	$67,100	96.3	—	—
15	Texas	$65,570	97.1	480	0.43×
16	Maryland	$64,300	105.0	160	0.74×
17	North Carolina	$63,380	94.3	200	0.51×
18	Mississippi	$62,240	87.0	40	0.46×
19	Iowa	$61,740	87.8	120	0.99×
20	Missouri	$61,670	90.8	60	0.23×
21	Ohio	$61,380	92.8	440	0.98×
22	Pennsylvania	$61,160	97.6	580	1.18×
23	Oregon	$60,800	103.4	500	3.16×
24	Michigan	$59,400	96.2	310	0.87×
25	Virginia	$59,050	101.1	370	1.11×
26	Florida	$57,830	103.4	570	0.71×
27	Oklahoma	$54,250	87.8	60	0.46×
28	Montana	$51,530	94.6	110	2.62×
29	Illinois	$49,270	100.0	—	—
30	Alabama	$42,250	88.8	70	0.42×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where music directors and composers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for music directors and composers

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Syracuse, NY	$140,230	95.7	120	4.76×
2	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$115,400	103.2	30	1.68×
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$112,950	115.6	320	1.69×
4	Colorado Springs, CO	$104,690	100.7	40	1.51×
5	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$97,970	112.6	1,520	1.99×
6	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$94,700	106.7	110	1.25×
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$93,090	113.6	1,280	2.54×
8	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$84,660	96.3	310	3.50×
9	Rochester, NY	$84,130	97.0	180	4.59×
10	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$82,920	100.2	—	—
11	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$82,570	100.9	100	1.46×
12	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$81,770	95.7	90	1.01×
13	Madison, WI	$79,870	97.3	70	2.13×
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$78,760	108.3	260	1.19×
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$78,760	108.9	320	1.26×
16	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$76,700	103.1	130	0.39×
17	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$75,030	111.1	190	1.12×
18	Cleveland, OH	$74,370	93.9	100	1.22×
19	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$74,270	111.9	170	1.33×
20	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA	$73,610	93.6	40	1.93×
21	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$71,850	102.7	40	0.91×
22	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$71,800	100.0	40	1.28×
23	Lancaster, PA	$71,100	98.3	40	1.88×
24	Urban Honolulu, HI	$69,330	111.0	70	2.01×
25	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$67,590	97.3	40	0.41×
26	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$66,800	105.4	160	1.69×
27	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$65,190	95.5	60	1.30×
28	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$64,440	100.1	—	—
29	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$64,300	104.5	110	1.00×
30	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$64,250	101.8	150	2.65×
31	Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH	$63,850	92.7	30	1.15×
32	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$63,440	98.6	110	0.40×
33	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$63,290	95.4	70	0.76×
34	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$61,740	91.7	70	2.01×
35	St. Louis, MO-IL	$61,670	95.1	40	0.32×
36	Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$61,670	109.4	100	4.74×
37	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$61,160	102.6	250	1.05×
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$60,500	114.2	130	0.57×
39	Jacksonville, FL	$60,000	99.5	30	0.53×
40	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$59,720	101.4	70	0.62×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where music directors and composers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Coaches and Scouts$47,320
Producers and Directors$90,360
Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials$40,710
Athletes and Sports Competitors$66,710
Choreographers$55,310